Those Who Hoist the Will of their Fathers
by LordHughes
Summary: A decade after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Village of Konohagakure is turning a new leaf and bringing in the next generation of splendid Shinobi. The two sages who saved the world, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha have taken two different paths...one to enlighten the world, and the other as 6th hokage. Follow Ryoji Kosumosu as he travels his path to find his true Nindo!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_Ten Years Ago…_

_The Fourth Ninja War raged across the land. Destruction and disaster spread across the earth like a poison in the body, and stretched even to the most secluded parts of the Five Nations. The whole world trembled under the pressure of losing their free will. _

_At the Hokage Summit, the five major nations, Konohagakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure and Iwagakure took arms together. The forces of the Shinobi Alliance banded together to stop the great threat of the evil Madura Uchiha and his attempts to create a new ninja world. _

_It wasn't long before the great Madara was betrayed by the first original great evil, who first unleashed the dark shroud of Sin upon the human race. Her name was Kaguya Otsutsuki, mother of the Sage of Six Paths._

_Two warriors…each embodying the forces of Yin and Yang, were chosen to fight the forces of this great darkness. _

_Breaking the generations-long feud between both their families, they banded together to combine their strengths and rid the world of Shinobi of all evil…_

* * *

The howl of the north wind was a righteous one. Destiny has taken its' course and was finally reaching an endpoint in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Any man who felt its power understood what this day in history finally meant, not only to the land of fire, but to the world of ninja as a whole. A hawk flew high over the village, its vision focused heavily on the conundrum happening below. It finally stopped and perched itself on the arm of a masked man who sat and watched from the balcony of his old home.

People. Thousands of them.

Almost every person hoisted a headband on their forehead, with the traditional leaf village symbol on it. Some wore green vests and came in all different shapes and sizes. Children, the elderly, women, and Shinobi alike gathered on either side of the long dirt paths leading up to a big building with a red roof. Behind that building was a small mountain that overlooked the city, which had 5 stone formation faces on it.

The one farthest to the left was a man with long, straight hair; the first hokage, Hashirama Senju, who had founded the village. Next to him was an armored man with wild spikey hair; the second hokage, Tobirama Senju, who was responsible for establishing man of the systems Konohagakure now used today such as the ANBU, police force, and the Ninja Academy. The middle figure was an older looking man with a long pointy beard; the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was the longest living Hokage and was responsible for raising many of the splendid ninja who emerged from the village. The fourth face was a young man's face, with spikey hair. He was the fourth Hokage; Minato Namikaze; who saved the village from a tailed beast many years in the past. He was one of the greatest ninja to ever come from the village. Finally, the last bust was a sole woman. She had a diamond carved into her head and was named Lady Tsunade, who was the world's greatest medical ninja. Tsunade was the fifth Hokage. These were the great leaders of the village hidden in the leaves throughout history.

The people laid roses and flower pedals all over the ground, while children blew into little plastic horns. Signs hung from balconies and windows which read, "Welcome the dawn of a new era" on each one. Confetti and paper streamers flew through the air and music filled in the whole area. The masked man, who's right eye alone was uncovered, could only feel one emotion. Joy.

As he reclined in his chair, he gently stroke the back of his bird and smiled underneath the mask. "Quite a sight huh, my old friend?" He said. "It almost feels like I'm in a dream…" He looked into the plain air as the great winds waved his grey hair from side to side. He daydreamt in ecstasy, completely relaxed, as any man would after his time in service ended. The man had seen a lot of violence, the things that had shaped him into the man he was. The only thing he could do nowadays was sit back and reminisce on his younger days, even though he wasn't terribly old. He found it funny that a man in his middle age, considered himself "old." But that was what the life as a Shinobi does to people. What a man would experience at the age of 10 as a Shinobi would be enough to make a grown regular citizen end his own life.

It wasn't until a loud blast of ceremonial horns sounded, that the man snapped out of his trance and turned his attention down to the main road. A giant white convoy, carried on both sides by men wearing leaf village vests, eased its way up to road toward the Hokage tower. Thunderous applause accompanied the arrival of it. People cheered hysterically, some shedding tears. Love exuded from the whole village, something which the world had been lacking since the Great War. The man stood and applauded heartily as the big bird flapped itself onto the balcony ledge. "Finally… The times have caught up with me." The legendary ninja said to himself with a smile.

Gentle hands messaged his shoulders. "I had to go downstairs and just take it all in. It's such a splendid ceremony." said a soft voice from behind him. The man turned around slowly. A beautiful women with long brown hair smiled warmly back at him, hand both clasped at her lap. The man smiled back at her, "…More than splendid. Look how far we've come."

She embraced him, her head wresting in his chest. "It finally looks as if the old Hatake Kakashi can finally settle down."

"…Possibly. There's no other place I'd rather be Ayame."

He gently kissed her forehead and stroked her hair with care. "I'm happy."

"So am I Kakashi." She responded, kissing him.

* * *

An old woman sat on the head chair in the Hokage tower. She rubbed her chin as her face stayed completely still. Her eyebrows furrowed intensely, and she sat deep in thought. Her vacant hand that wasn't rubbing her chin was tapping on the desk in a fixed rhythm, although it was doubtful that she was very aware that she was actually producing any rhythm at all. The old woman had blonde hair, and was an older looking version of the single woman on the Hokage memorial tower. The nametag sitting on her desk read, _"Godaime Hokage: Lady Tsunade."_

Inside the room sat two other women. One of them was a woman with brown short hair, and wore glasses. Beside her sat a fat boar, sitting rather docile with no agitation. The other woman was younger than the two others. She was very pretty with lovely emerald eyes, and bright pink hair. The two women were apprentices of Lady Tsunade, both being acclaimed medical ninja like her.

"Shizune…Sakura…" said Tsunade, breaking the long silence, and still staring at her desk.

The two apprentices turned their attention to her, almost with the same exasperation as her. "Yes, lady Tsunade?" they both said simultaneously.

She glanced at both of them with fierce eyes. "…I was extremely skeptical about this decision at first but…" Tsunade started, voice in a monotone. "…I remembered the bond between the two of those boys."

Sakura smiled with approval, seeing that Tsunade had finally warmed up to the decision that took ten years to decide. "I think you're making the right decision lady Tsunade. Don't forget what was said to you…" She advised. Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement, and swallowed her spit.

Suddenly there was a knocking at the directly across from the Hokage chair. The three jumped a little bit and turned their attention to the lone door. Tsunade looked at it, and then closed her eyes. She took a very deep inhale, and then followed with a long exhale. Afterward, she opened her eyes slowly, and took a final look out from the window. She looked at her people. Descendants of the famous clans representing the leaf village filled the crowds. "It's time." She said with a smirk. "Come in!"

The door opened slowly.

The man took two steps into the room, and stood in the dead center. His hands were at his side, and his stern, thin lips, sat clenched like a stone. Tsunade looked him dead in the eyes. The man looked back at her with the same intensity. However, there was no hatred inside of those eyes of his. Nothing struck Tsunade as threatening, no matter how much she tried to deny it to herself. All she could really see was a man who had washed himself clean of all prior demons. His raven black hair and his strong jawline made him look as pure a shinobi as possible.

"Spread your arms." Tsunade said as she stood up. The man spread his arms out wide to either side of him. Tsunade motioned to Shizune, and pointed to a closet in one corner of the room. Shizune nodded, and walked over to the corner and opened the door. Out of the closet she pulled white robes, with flame accents at the bottom; the Hokage suit, along with a large sun hat with the same design.

Tsunade looked back at him. "The Will of Fire was entrusted to you as a child and you rejected it. You are a reason why we fought in the last war, and your loyalty to our village is still highly questionable. However, you are still qualified to accept my offer to be my successor. I've had my doubts about you, and the only reason why you're here in this office right now is because I respect the opinion of a dear friend of mine! Do you understand that?" She barked in a fierce tone after banging the desk.

The man nodded, "I owe it to my people. I understand." He simply said with a smile. Tsunade sighed one last time.

"Sasuke Uchiha..." She said. "…You have been selected to be the Sixth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf!"

* * *

The sun was setting, and the reddish sun was sinking behind the heads of the five Hokage faces. Sasuke, still wrapped in robes and wearing the oversized hat from the morning, looked out at his new village. The village he was born in, the village he had experienced his first feeling of loss in, the village he sought to destroy, and ultimately the village he saved. The Uchiha clansmen had conflicting feelings about this place called the hidden leaf throughout his life. The only issue for him was how to feel about everything at this moment. Nine years ago, he had risked his life to save the whole world and fought alongside his friends. He had such hatred for everyone at one point and realized that his hate would only drag him deeper into despair. Giving up that mentality was a hard thing for Sasuke to do.

After Shikamaru Nara turned down this job, it turned out a special someone had recommended him for the honorable duty. Virtually everyone knew who it was, however his name had been so tied to folklore, and nobody felt comfortable addressing him as if he was just some other leaf shinobi. Sasuke knew that his friend's act of peace had officially ended the longtime feud between the Uchiha and Senju clans. This conclusion is what helped Sasuke realize what his role would be. He had been forgiven by the village and its people, but he had not forgiven himself.

"Well, well, don't you look spiffy Sasuke!" A voice blurted from behind.

Sasuke immediately smiled and let out a slight chuckle. "I'm more of a blue-black person…but I can definitely get used to this." He responded turning around.

There he stood. The man with the fox whiskers and hair that could pass off as lightning bolts striking the brain. His clinched eyelids covered his deep blue eyes, but below his flaring nose was a wide array of sharp teeth. "My pops had some style didn't he? I swear Hokages get the best gear for free!" said Naruto Uzumaki, the great sage of Yang. He had many names across the globe, but anyone would be just fine for him. He carried a long stick in his hand, and wore nothing but an orange shirt and some long blue pants that stopped right above his ankles.

"Hah." Sasuke uttered. "I don't think I need any more merchandise that reminds me of your ass at all hours of the day."

"It's ok to love me Sausy! I love you too buddy boy!" Naruto said laughing.

"Shut up. You can't still be a complete idiot before leaving on your escapade can you?"

"I'm just joking with you." Naruto said wrapping his arm around his friend, "...I can't have a little fun? I guess I just feel relaxed haha."

Sasuke looked at him. "I just don't understand how you could be so calm. I mean, your trip is –"

Naruto cut him off. "Yea, yea, yea! 'Completely vital to the safety of the Ninja world…yada, yada. See Sasuke, If there's anything pervy sage thought me when I was young, it was that we all have the potential to help someone tap into places they've never been…whether mentally or physically."

Sasuke listened closer. "…I'm no longer worried about saving people anymore, Sasuke…" He turned away from his friend and looked to the sky. "…That's something that we did that together. Now, it's all about showing people what type of place this earth can be if we all find the guts to journey into that unknown place inside ourselves." He said with a smile. "Finding that untapped potential…you know what I mean?"

Sasuke looked at him. "…I see…" said the Uchiha, nodding.

"I trust that you'll keep my home in good hands..?" Naruto responded, putting his warm hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You know…I used to have such big dreams of becoming Hokage…"

Sasuke chuckled a bit. "Yea…I'm aware."

Naruto looked up at him. "But…a hokage's real responsibility is to make the decisions that are best for his people right?"

"Yes, that's true."

"So I guess by putting it in your hands…I've reached my own level of 'hokage' too then." Naruto stuck out his pinky. Sasuke looked at it for a second in slight confusion, and then looked back up at Naruto. The former Jinchuuriki said nothing, just gazed at him in return. Sasuke then caught the message and smiled, sticking his pinky out and connecting it to Naruto's own outstretched finger.

"Good Luck." They both said to each other at the same time.

* * *

As Naruto walked off up the path leading toward the exit of the village, Sasuke watched him. The back of his old dingy shirt showed the swirl of the Uzumaki Clan. He knew that Naruto had saved not only humanity along with Sasuke, but Sasuke's life as well. Sasuke understood Gaara. He understood Haku. He understood now why everyone changed their being after coming into contact with Naruto. He realized that the man named Naruto Uzumaki wasn't any one being. Naruto Uzumaki was the light that united the ninja world. His pilgrimage would be to an unknown destination, and Sasuke hoped that it would stretch out far beyond the ends of the ninja world.

Sasuke blinked. Something peculiar happened. As Naruto walked, his modest rags started to look like rich elegant robes. His walking stick looked like a gallant staff with a circular blade at the end. Six spheres of light circled around on his back. Sasuke rubbed his eyes again and saw nothing peculiar about Naruto this time.

"…_Strange…"_ He thought as he returned back to his post.

**~Those Who Hoist the Will of Their Fathers~**


	2. Ryoji Kosumosu!

**Chapter 1: Ryoji Kosumosu!**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Naruto walks down a dirt path, elegant robes drag on the floor, while his staff is in his hand. Chakra spheres circle around his head like a crown. However, underneath is his regular clothing. A baby frog follows him eagerly.**

* * *

5 AM…

The village of Konohagakure was shrouded in a deep darkness. The sun wouldn't come up for another thirty minutes, and it seemed like every villager was trying to use every minute of their sleeping time. Today was the 23rd of September, signifying the first day of a new school year at the academy. It had been slightly more than one year after Sasuke Uchiha had been appointed Rokudaime of the Hidden Leaf Village. His stoic, handsome face had already been implanted on the Memorial right next to that of Lady Tsunade.

The village, which had been tattered by war ten years ago, was back into the tip-top shape it had been in generations before the Invasion. With Sasuke being the Hokage for more than a year, which makes it's only logical that it had been a year since Naruto Uzumaki had headed out for his journey too. After an hour, the sound of a bird cawed, almost like the sound of a morning horn.

The sun arose at about 5:50. The darkness lifted and it signified the beginning of a new day. At the far side of town was a small home, green in color, with an old, wooden door. The sign in the front of the estate read, _"Kosumosufamiri No Homo" _or Home of the Kosumosu family. Inside the home, and up the staircase, was a room.

Inside came a loud snoring sound. It was the type of belligerent snoring that one could only pull off if he was in a deep sleep. The boy slept in a white tee shirt and some small boxers. His leg was almost completely off the bed and the bed sheets, which were kicked all over the place, only kept the ankle of his other leg warm. His arm was leaning on the headboard while his other arm was lodged under a pillow. Drool ran down his cheek and spilled onto the pillow his head rested on.

His alarm clock went off at 6:00 Am and blasted repeatedly. The sleeping boy was unfazed, and was so deep in sleep that he wouldn't even budge. Outside the room, was an elderly woman in a robe.

"_I knew I couldn't trust that boy to wake up for school on his own." _She said, shaking her head.

She pushed open the door, and walked over to the boy's bed. "Ryoji." she said tapping him.

He didn't budge.

She signed and focused on his alarm clock, which was blasting louder and louder which each second he didn't wake up. The old woman stuck out her hand, and let out a small grunt. The alarm clock exploded in seconds with a loud bang. Pieces of mental and screws flew all across the small room.

The boy woke up with a jolt. "What the hell?!" He shouted in shock. He popped out of bed and saw his grandmother, looking at him. "Grandma! I think we're under attack!" He yelled frantically, looking from side to side for a place to crawl under.

The old woman karate chopped him on his forehead in lightning speed. "Quiet you fool." She said sternly. "…You didn't remember that it was your first day at the Ninja Academy?"

The boy looked at her, perplexed. "Sorry Grandma." He said rubbing his red forehead. Ryoji looked at the remains of his alarm clock, "…Not my alarm clock again!" He yelled in shock.

"Well it's not like you use the damn thing anyway. You have to report to the school in an hour, so I suggest you start getting ready now." The woman said, changing her demeanor to a smile. "I prepared your lunch for you. Make sure you take the small piece of paper on the counter as well."

The boy calmed down. "Thanks Grandma."

The old woman stroked his silky, maroon shaded hair. Ryoji looked at her, with his green eyes.

"You look like your father more and more every day." She said kissing his forehead. "I'm sure you'll be a splendid Shinobi, ootoko."

The boy smiled back at her, with a seemingly new sense of hope and energy. "I will grandma." He responded.

* * *

Ryoji walked down a dirt path. He wore green shirt and some dark brown pants, with a pair of brown sandals. His shirt hand a symbol of a tree at the back of it with many branches. His hair was wild, and spiked up and down to his upper back like lion's mane.

The Hyuga estate felt like miles from where he lived. He carried his lunchbox, and removed the small piece of paper from the little side-pouch that was sticking out. Upon opening the small piece of paper, Ryoji saw his most basic information. His name, birthdate, gender, height, weight, blood type, eye color, hair color, and parent signature was all present on the sheet. His grandmother's signature was written on the tiny line at the bottom of the slip. In the top left corner was writing in big red ink. It read, _"Room #203, Instructor: S. Konohamaru."_ Ryoji sighed, and put the paper in his pocket.

He had finally reached the famed Hyuga estate. One of the most historic and sacred places in Konoha, the Hyuga estate was the main stationary home to member of the Hyuga clan, one of the four original clans of the leaf village. The fortress was covered by high metal gates, and the grass on the estate's lawn was perfectly trimmed. The marble sidewalks were stainless, and no one could get in without prior authorization. It was clear that the Hyuga people were big on privacy, and Rioji waited outside of the gates impatiently. He banged on the gate fiercely and peered through the steel bars, scanning the area for any sign of people. A man, dressed in robes came from a small building. Rioji looked into his eyes, they were almost completely featureless, and were a creamy milk color. He had long, dark hair and a tattoo on his forehead. Rioji looked at him, upward and down again.

"Uh." He started, as the man looked at him with a straight emotionless face. "Is Kiyo home or something?"

The Hyuga clansmen nodded, still wordless, and headed into another building silently.

There were two predominant buildings in the Hyuga estate. One was a big, marvelous building, which seemed to gleam although it was a regular white. It was surrounded by other nice, small buildings. Delicate flowers were planted around it in a tasteful fashion. Across a long walk way of white bricks, led to another smaller house. This house was relatively big, but not like its neighbor. Surrounding that home, were other older and more worn out buildings. Each side of the compound itself had the signs "Main" and "Branch".

After about 15 minutes of waiting, Ryoji who sat on the floor outside the estate was ready to leave. Suddenly, a boy with pale skin and long brown hair came from an opened gate to meet Ryoji. He had a smile on his face, and was glad to see his friend. Ryoji, who heard the gate lock itself, turned around.

"Ryoji!" He greeted, putting his arms up in celebration. The two high-fived each other.

"Kiyo! Wassup man? How long has it been?" Ryoji asked, just as excited to see him.

"A whole week of ceremony can really kick your butt." Kiyo responded, hands on his hips. "I never knew that going into the Ninja academy was such a big deal to my family."

The two started to walk down the road towards the village square. The academy wasn't too far from there. "What'd you get?" Ryoji asked, looked at the backpack on Kiyo's back.

"My mom said I can't tell anyone, so keep your mouth shut. It's just some dumb scrolls and gifts from my aunt and main branch people. Never felt like putting them away." The young hyuga boy said, shrugging.

Ryoji nodded, impressed. "I wish I could get a whole bunch of gifts when I got enrolled. I'd be set forever." He said with a laugh.

"It's not that big of a deal. Just kinda cool I guess. Most of the stuff I get is like dumb books and school supplies. I'm gonna be a ninja for goodness sakes. What does a guy like me need stuff like that for?" Kiyo said.

"That's so lame."

"Heck yea it is. I already know my family history, and we did basic math and literature in junior academy. But hey, what can I do right? Family comes first."

Ryoji turned away slightly, "…Yea. Family first." He said to himself, under his breath.

"Let's get down to the academy; we only have like 10 minutes left." Kiyo proclaimed, patting his friend's shoulder.

* * *

The boys stood outside the Ninja Academy. It was a big building which loomed over the small area in East Konoha. Ryoji smirked at the building, almost shaking with excitement at the opportunity which stood before him. Kiyo, on the other hand had a straight, almost weary, face.

"You ready? Let's fuckin go!" Ryoji said, walking towards the open door with a hop in his step. He jogged up the steps and was about to head inside, noticing that his friend wasn't tagging along, Ryoji turned around. Kiyo stood in the exact same place. "What's wrong? Are you scared or something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kiyo looked downward. "No way I'm scared…" He said in a low tone, "…I'm just thinking about stuff."

Ryoji walked towards him. "Like what?"

"Everyone always talks about my father and how great he was…this is where it all started. What if-"

"Don't talk like that!" Ryoji shouted, shaking his Hyuga friend by his shoulders back and forth. "What's the matter with you Kiyo!? Get yourself together!"

Kiyo paid attention.

"This is your life man. Not your father's or anyone else's! You gotta be the best you can be, and I think you'll be a great shinobi!" He preached. "Stop being such a pussy, it's just school…"

Kiyo smirked, and nodded his head. "…10 ryo I can beat you to the classroom…" He said. Kiyo pushed Ryoji's head downward into the ground, and sprinted towards the door.

"Dammit!" Ryoji said fixing his hair.

He sprinted in after him.

The two had reached the classroom. Ryoji peeked inside the classroom, and opened the door. Inside were many students. Kiyo estimated well over 30 children in the big lecture hall. They were all about the same age, and were engaged in activities ranging from typical childish mischief, to sitting alone and reading.

The two boys found two vacant chairs sitting side by side and chose to occupy them. "This is gonna be awesome. Look at all the kids." Ryoji said to his friend, nudging him with his elbow.

"I'm not much of a social person anyway, but I can dig it." Kiyo responded.

"Awh shut up."

Rioji looked amongst all the other kids, loud chatter enveloped the room. It was almost a surprise that anyone could hear each other's conversation. Only a few of the children noticed a man walk into the room with a backpack. He placed it gently on his headmaster desk, and let out a slight cough into his enclosed fist. He wore a tight blue jumpsuit under an official green leaf shinobi vest. He wore a shinobi headband on his forehead and had brown spiky hair.

The man looked over the bunch and stood center stage, with his hands folded behind his back. The few students that recognized his intentions faced forward and waited for him to utter a word. The students chattered away not even noticing he was there.

"Listen up!" He shouted loudly kicking his desk.

Everyone in the room jumped up and faced him.

"Good, now that I have your attention…" Said the man as he turned around to the chalkboard and grabbed a stick of chalk from the desk. "I am Sarutobi Konohamaru, and I will be your instructor for the next few years at this academy." He wrote his name on the chalkboard. "As you can see, the name of our beloved village is within my name. A slight history lesson about myself…I am the grandson of the 3rd Hokage himself, and the nephew of Sarutobi Asuma. So, naturally, there's no other suitable shinobi better to teach you than I." Konohamaru said facing his students.

"My sole purpose is to pass the Will of Fire onto you snotty nosed idiots." He said waving his pointer finger across the large group of kids. "Now…first thing's first. What is the first thing every shinobi must know before they can hoist an official headband on their head?"

A whole plethora of students raised their hands. Konohamaru chose a fat kid, who was eagerly holding up his arm in the second row. "Yes?"

"…How to shoot a Kamehameha jutsu at the bad guys!?" He shouted, with fire in his eyes.

"No pork chop. Next?"

Another hand. "Yes? You with the green hair?"

"How to make hand seals?"

"Close…but no. Next?"

"How to throw a kunai knife."

"Ehh wrong."

"How to kill someone."

"No! All good answers, ehh…well not really, but they are all wrong." Konohamaru said already getting a migraine. "The first thing every shinobi must learn is their Nindo…or their Ninja Way."

The students listened up.

"What do you care about and what do you want to protect? You cannot receive your headband if you don't have anything you truly want to keep safe. Every shinobi carries their own Nindo. Through that, the Will of Fire is established, and therefore can be passed on. Every single one of you could be the best fighters or medics or spy that the world has ever seen, but with no purpose for doing so; you are worthless. "

Ryoji sat eyes wide open. _"..My Nindo..?"_

"Now…" Konohamaru said. "Pull out your textbooks to a blank piece of paper, the first Unit is on Ninja Laws..."

Across the room came groins and sighs as each student unzipped their backpacks.

_**~And thus…the young children of the leaf village start their journey to discover what truly is their Nindo~**_


	3. Gennin!

**Chapter 2: Gennin!**

**Chapter Illustration:** **Ryoji, Kiyo, Takane, and Wataru play basketball on a dirt floor covered in tall grass. Ryoji dribbles the basketball with a cocky smirk looking down on Takane, who is guarding him with widely spread legs and arms. Ryoji wears an oversized Michael Jordan jersey. Kiyo tries to get open for a pass waving his arms, while Wataru guards him determinedly. The hoop is made out of old pipes lodged into the ground, with an old copper wire rim and tattered rags for a net.**

* * *

It was a Saturday morning, the only day when kids like Ryoji could sleep in from the wee hours of the morning to the late afternoon. A day when they didn't have to worry about the impending threat of hollering Grandmothers and exploding alarm clocks. Egao, Ryoji's elderly grandmother, sat on a small chair, at a small table, in her small room, engaged in the small pages of a novel.

The _"Icha Icha" _series had some of her favorite novels. They were not only filled with mystery and adventure, but had some spicy scenes as well. These reminded her of her younger days, when every young academy girl had a crush on an older shinobi. She dreamt of one day being saved by her own heartthrob Ninja. The old woman kicked her legs out, _"...Ah…there's nothing better than Icha Icha on a beautiful morning." _

A tapping came from her windowsill not to long after she had put down. Upon looking up at it, she saw a grey Uzura Quail peering at her from the outside. It was covered in small green robes, it was a messenger. The bird's loose neck made its small head twitch from left to right, and its long antenna-like feather on its head stood erect. Inside its mouth was a slip of white paper.

Egao opened the window, and took the paper from the Quail's outstretched beak. "Could it be..?" She asked herself. The bird tweeted, and flew away. Egao looked at the unfolded slip, which said _"Kosumosu Ryoji"_ written in cursive. In the top right corner was an official Konohagakure stamp, the leaf village symbol.

"Wahooooooooooooo!"

Ryoji threw his hands in the air with joy. Egao clapped for him just as excited as he was. The unfolded envelope read _"Kosumosu Ryoji, Ninja Academy Official Exam" _at the top. A few inches below sentences of text, was one word written in bold, red letters... _"PASSED." _

"I knew you could do it Ootoku." Egao said, hoping up and down clapping her hands.

"Of course I could!" Ryoji fired back, with a newfound sense of optimism in his eyes. "Ceremony is in two days, and tomorrow all graduates have a meeting to attend at the ninja academy."

The old woman smiled at him. She could see her grandson's mood rise up from what it had been since he first took the test. Ryoji had been a nervous wreck all week. The ninja academy exam had been extremely grueling for him, as he had a hard time studying for it. He knew he and his friends had slacked off all year, but unlike the rest of those boys, Ryoji actually needed to study if he wanted a good grade. Kiyo had always been a naturally smart kid, and Ryoji envied that about him.

"I can't wait! I gotta take my picture, pose in my headband, and show all the girls…" The boy told himself as he could hardly attain his excitement.

"…And you can also look forward to becoming a shinobi…" Said Egao, waving her scrawny old fingers at him.

"Yea yea that too, but there are more things you can do with a headband grandma." Ryoji said, eyes fixed on his marveling achievement. "I'm a young stud now."

"I see." Egao responded, still happy for him.

* * *

"We look so sweet!" Ryoji shouted.

Four boys were huddled in a circle, each with their new Konohagakure Shinobi Identification Cards. Kiyo, a brown haired boy with spiked up hair, and another boy with an Arabian-style hat, with robes that hung downward which kept the back of his neck and face cool.

"Why's my face like that?" Asked the boy with is hair spiked up.

"Your face is always like that Wataru." Responded Kiyo with a laugh.

Wataru made a slight frown; his id card had that same exact face. He wore a brown one-piece suit under a green jacket.

The other boy, with the brown Arabic hat on his head chuckled, "You guys think I should take this thing off for good? My picture looks sweet without it." He said looking at his card against sunlight.

Ryoji rolled his eyes, "Of course you should! It's almost summer time; doesn't that thing make you hot Takane?"

"It actually does the opposite..." Said Takane, under his breath.

Picture day had gone great; all of the 25 graduates of the Ninja academy had gone one by one to the hokage tower to smile in front of a camera. In one day, each one would hold the title of Gennin, and become an officially licensed shinobi. Ryoji, Kiyo, Takane, and Wataru were all passed through. The courtyard was covered in students all proud of themselves and optimistic for their futures.

As the boys conversed in joy, a loud grunt came from behind.

"Well, well!" It shouted in an arrogant, scratchy voice. "Looky, looky Akamato! What a surprise…"

The bunch turned around slowly, the shadows of two big figures cast over them before they did so.

Two boys stood side by side.

One of them being maybe about a year or so older, approached them, with folded arms, and a large smile across his face. The boy wore a grey hoodie with furs on the hood, some black pants, and closed-toed shoes. He had two blue fang- like marks on both cheeks and had yellow, canine-like eyes. Sharp claws stuck out from his fingertips. His breath was hot, and reeked of an old rotten beef-cut and could be smelled from a considerable distance away. On top of his head, a white puppy dog sat, looking like it was smirking at the boys as well. He was the town bully, Kouki Inuzuka.

The four boys' demeanor changed almost immediately from a composed, happy one to an intense one. "What the fuck do you want Kouki?" Ryoji said, face turning a reddish color. The maroon-haired boy balled up his fists. Kiyo turned his head; he noticed his friend's building anger right away.

"Eh, you know me." Kouki said, shrugging his shoulders with a cocky smile on his face. "…Just wanted to see how you pussycats managed to actually pass the shinobi exam…after all, it is for future shinobi."

"What's that supposed to mean, dog breath?" Wataru asked, with a straight face.

"I just didn't know there were ninjas around with absolutely no talent. Maybe they just decided to pity-pass you." The Inuzuka said. "…It's not hard to feel sorry for a bunch of losers, especially if you're an old coot like the academy teachers."

The other big kid was large in size, and had a round chubby face. His hair was an orangey-brown color, and was tied up in a bun. He chuckled a bit at Kouki's comment, and forced down a handful of potato chips from the bag he held. "Good one, Kouki." He said in a muffled voice, mouth full. He had blue swirls under his cheeks, and wore a green overcoat over some brown jumpsuit. He wore a blue scarf which matched his face paint.

"_Wha-pap!"_

The sound pierced the air almost like a sonic boom. The whole courtyard full of kids turned to the center, eyes widened of shock. Kiyo, Takane, Wataru, and the Akimichi boy all dropped their jaws at the sight off it. Ryoji's follow-through was the closest thing to perfect that anyone had ever seen. Kouki's face was whipped to the side, and his body followed. He flew suspended in mid-air, eyes clinched and right cheek lifted out of its normal position. Ryoji's knuckles stung due to the impact of the hit.

Kouki hit the ground hard, scraping his black jumpsuit and wrists on the gravel. Akamato landed on it's four legs, and went to aid him. He rose up slowly, but didn't stand. He held his cheek with his butt planted on the hard ground, stupefied. Ryoji stood above him, breathing quite heavily, but with a look of fire burning in his eyes. He looked right into Kouki's eyes. "…Don't you dare underestimate me…I don't lose!"

The Inuzuka boy clansmen's face turned red. His nose flared and the small hairs on his arm spiked up. Akamato slowly backed away from him whimpering. "Why you…" He said, with a growl. "F…fuck you! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget! Chomasu, let's get this asshole!" He shouted at the top off his lungs in a blind rage.

His partner almost coughed up his chips. "Kouki are you sure it's the right thing to do?" He asked nervously. Kouki growled even deeper this time. "If you don't help me I'm gonna fuck you up too!" He shouted, demandingly pointing at Ryoji. Chomasu stood next to Kouki and faced the maroon-haired boy.

Ryoji smirked, "Finally…I can finally show you what I'm all about Dog-breath…" he said, knowing he had Kouki right where he wanted him.

"It's fucking over for you, you piece of shit…" Kouki responded under his breath, readying his fists.

Wataru jumped in front of Ryoji, splitting the difference in space evenly between the bullies and his friend. "Stop this right now! This isn't a good idea at all." He shouted. "You guys won't graduate if you get in trouble before graduation!"

Kouki and Chosamu dashed past the spiky haired boy straight for Ryoji. "Hmph, not too worried about that at this point!" The dog boy yelled. The two closed the distance between them and Ryoji, sandwiching him between two flying fists. The other new gennin watched in disbelief at what they were seeing.

Suddenly, two hands clasped both of the attackers' fists. Out of a puff of smoke, Kiyo and Takane appeared on both sides of Ryoji. Kiyo held off Kouki's fist, while Takane did the same to Chosamu 's. Ryoji raised his eyebrows, stunned. The bullies were just as shocked that they were able to reach them that fast. "…If you're gonna double-team him…" said Takane.

"…You're gonna have to go through us first...!" Kiyo finished. "We outnumber you punks by two…your other lackeys didn't graduate, remember that Kouki?" He said, pushing the fist away from him.

"Things are going to change around here…we aren't eight year olds anymore. You can't bully us. "

Kouki was speechless. He couldn't usher any words.

"…We may not be the most powerful individually. But together, we're ions of miles past the point you're at." Added Takane, with a stern and determined face on.

Kouki growled and gave the crew one last glare. He scoffed at their remarks and said, "…Watch you'll see. Next time you won't be so damn lucky Kosumosu…" The dog boy turned his back to them. "Akamato…Chomasu….let's get outta here." The three of them walked away.

"Hmph…" Wataru said with a long sigh, and a drop of sweat rolling down his face. "That was annoying…"

Ryoji folded his arms. "I could've whooped those assholes all by myself you know."

Kiyo and Takane turned to him, slightly pissed off. "Yea, I guess you could've." The Hyuga boy said sarcastically. "But you'd also get your ass whooped by Konohamaru-Sensei, and get kicked out of the academy. Do you want that?"

Ryoji turned away; he knew his friends had his back that moment.

Takane gave out a sunny smile to his friend, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Look. Whatever happens bro, we got your back. Those punks had nothing on us!"

Ryoji looked back at the three boys smiling at him and he nodded in submission.

* * *

"Listen up!" Shouted Konohamaru, once again standing at the center of the classroom. His chalkboard read, _"Congratulations Gennin" _in big white chalk. The classroom consisted of 24 kids, each wearing a brand new shinobi headband on his or her head. Ryoji, Kiyo, Takane, and Wataru all sat beside each other, and each of them was looking frantically around the classroom.

They saw girls.

This was a completely new experience for them, as aspiring Kunoichi had to take a separate class in the academy the last four years. Some of these girls were known by the boys, however most of them Ryoji had never seen before.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you all on earning your new Gennin status. It's been a great four years being your teacher." Konohamaru said clapping. "However, my last announcement to you is very important."

The students listened closely.

"As you know, for a shinobi to complete any mission as quickly and efficiently as possible, he must rely on the help of his fellow teammates. That's why you will be split up into Squads of four, including a jounin squad leader."

Kiyo raised an eyebrow, "…Konohamaru-Sensei, why are we in squads of 4 now? Isn't it supposed to be three-man cells?" He asked.

"Good question Mr. Hyuga. That was originally the case. However, after the war the Hokage has changed that rule to ensure as much success as possible on these missions, especially the E, D, and C ranked ones." Answered Konohamaru, "Now without further adieu…I will announce your Cell groups, you will meet your Jounin leader tomorrow in the following classrooms…"

Ryoji and his friends quickly held their breaths. Their future was staring them right in their young faces.

**~Four-man cells, Jounin masters, and a brand new Shinobi career for the young Gennin. What does this new lifestyle have in store for them? ~**


	4. The Graduates

_**Author's Note: **__Recently I was told that the characters and story are a little jumbled up and all lol. I'm super sorry about that, and maybe I'll be able to clear some things up so far. I'll briefly update you on the OC's that you were introduced to in the first two chapters._

**Ryoji Kosumosu- **_Completely an original character of mine. He is the main character, even though I can't reveal much about his past and family just yet because it ties in with the story lol. His last name Kosumosu means, "Cosmos." His first name Ryoji is a traditional male name which means "Good Reign" Ryoji is very reckless, and hotheaded. _

**Kiyo Hyuga- **_Kiyo is the son of Neji and Tenten. Neji has long been deceased, if you're up to date with the manga, he died in the war. I couldn't live with the fact that he was dead so I decided to make Kiyo in his memory instead lmfao. The name Kiyo means, "Purity." He is Ryoji's best friend, and has been his friend even before they enrolled in the ninja academy. He is worrisome, but intelligent._

**Takane Mamoru- **_Takane is another OC, from a clan called the Mamoru clan. His first name means, "High Price" which can mean a variety of things, as you'll see as his character develops. Mamoru is the clan he hails from, it means "Protect." Takane is a friend that Ryoji and Kiyo met during their four years at the academy. Takane is an extremely nice person._

**Wataru- **_Wataru is, once again, an original OC lmfao. He has no last name because he is an orphan, as you'll come to see later on in the story. His name simply means, "Navigation" He's the fourth member of Ryoji's group of close friends, and he also met the bunch at the ninja academy over the past four years. He's a laid back individual._

**Egao Kosumosu- **_Ryoji's grandmother who lives with him. She has some very strange powers, as you can see with the alarm clock incident lol. Her name means "smile."_

**Kouki Inuzuka-** _The son of Kiba Inuzuka and an original character. He is the town bully, and has a rivalry with Ryoji. His last name means "Dog" and the name Kouki means "Vast and Strong" During his academy days, Kouki had a squad full of lackeys that terrorized the students. All of them failed the graduation exam except Chosamu._

**Chosamu Akimichi- **_Hails from the Akimichi clan, BUT is NOT the son of Choji Akimichi, who is the head of the clan. He is one of Kouki's lackeys. The first part of his name is "Cho", I added Samu simply because it flowed lolololol._

**Akamato- **_One of Akamaru's puppies. Kouki's best friend and animal companion._

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Graduates **

**Chapter Illustration:**** Ryoji sleeps under a shady tree, with his headband covering his eyes. Next to him, his Shinobi ID card lays in the grass.**

* * *

Konohamaru smacked his forehead. "Awh shit!" He proclaimed. "…I almost forgot about the damn attendance." The academy teacher flipped a few pages in the clipboard he was holding. He cleared his throat, "…When I say your names, tell me you're present. First name…Wataru?"

Wataru sat back in his chair daydreaming. Takane, who sat right next to him, politely nudged him with his elbow. This made the lazy new gennin look at him questioningly as if to ask, "What do you want?" Konohamaru rolled his eyes. "For god sakes Wataru, it's been four years and you still can't stop daydreaming huh?"

"I'm present…" The brown haired boy replied with a shrug.

The academy teacher turned back to the attendance sheet. "Next name…Aburame Shizu."

A soft voice came from the corner of the classroom, "…Present…" it whispered. A girl with dark foggy shades slouched over on the desk, flicking at a glass with her middle finger. She wore a heavy steel grey overcoat, with black pants underneath. Ryoji cringed at the sight of a large black spider, from within the glass. _"What the…?" _He thought, as shivers ran down his back.

Konohamaru seemed slightly disturbed as well, sweat dropping from his forehead. "Uhh…well next name…" he said.

Ryoji turned his head slowly towards Kiyo, "…Did you see that fat ass spider..?" He asked, "It's making my stomach turn."

Kiyo looked up at her, and turned back to Ryoji. "Well…she does have Aburame as her last name. Although, I've never heard of one using a spider before, that's pretty neat." The Hyuga replied with a smile. Ryoji made a disgusted face.

"…_neat?" _

"Akimichi Chosamu." Konohamaru announced looking around the room, "…You shouldn't be too hard to find."

Chosamu sat next to Kouki all the way in the back row of the classroom. "Hah hah…very funny Konohamaru-sensei…here I am!" He said between bites of a sandwich. Ryoji was surprised he could even fit in the desk with how big his stomach was. Chosamu sucked his fingers, and turned to Kouki. "Hey Kou…am I really that fat? I think I'm getting a little slimmer."

After a few other names, Konohamaru reached another. "Gekko Hideharu?"

"Present sir!" shouted a voice from above Ryoji's crew. A boy with modest, brown hair had stuck his hand high into the air as he stood up from his chair, body as straight as possible. His face was straight and alert, and his eyes were wide open. The back of his long brown hair was tied in a pony-tail. The boy wore a steel breastplate, and forearm protectors made from the same material. Underneath the steam however, was an ivy green jumpsuit. His boots were a solid black. As Kiyo looked this guy up and down, noticing a brown sheath and a black handle sticking out of it.

"…_A samurai huh? That's quite odd…" _He thought._ "What would a guy like that be doing in our village…?"_

"Haruno Kazumi?" Konohamaru called.

A loud thump came from the far side of the class room. To the class's surprise, and girl with bright pink hair, wearing a dark green spandex suit which stopped right about her naval, and some dark green leggings of the same color stood on the desk with her hands high in the air. Her squished eyelids covered a pair of enchanting green eyes. "Konohamaru-sensei, the beautiful burning devil is present for duty! My flowers of youth can finally sprout! Wahooooooooo!" She shouted.

Konohamaru's sweat dropped. _"It's like she never quits…how long have her flowers been 'sprouting' anyway?" _He shook his head and kicked her craziness out of his mind. "Moving along…Hatake Sachio." He called out.

There was no answer…

Konohamaru looked around the classroom, "Hatake Sachio!"

Still no answer…

"_Well isn't that a shocker…"_He thought to himself, rolling his eyes."…Last call for Hatake Sachio...no? Ok then."

The students looked amongst themselves, no sign of the son of such a legendary shinobi. Everyone knew of the Hatake name. Legend has it that Sachio's father was able to copy and master every single ninjutsu on the planet. Hatake Kakashi had also been a part of some of the greatest factions of ninja to every come from Konohagakure such as the ANBU. He was mentored by the fourth hokage himself, and was the leader of the "Divine Team 7 of Konoha." He was a literal living piece of history in the hidden leaf.

Just as Konohamaru was about to mark the boy absent, the door slowly pushed open. Everyone's attention turned to it as a silver haired boy slugged in. He wore a full body, tight, grey shirt with a long sleeve on one side and a ripped off sleeve on the other. He was also wearing gloves on his hands, and carried a long pouch, slung on his back. His pants were baggy and military green, and on his feet were grey sandals.

"I'm here…" Said the sleepy boy, who followed his sentence with a loud yawn.

"I'm guessing that you forgot what day it was Sachio..?" Konohamaru asked quite irritated. Sachio nodded in response. "…Why are you late?" He finally asked

"Umm… well..." He said looking at his hands. "...First I woke up late, then I tripped and fell down my staircase at home and my mother yelled at me. Then she made me clean my room, and on the way over here I got lost in my thoughts, so…" The grey haired boy answered shrugging.

The kids in their seats looked at the boy in both wonder and hostility, _"What the fuck..?"_ Ryoji thought, scratching his head.

"_Lost in his thoughts?"_ Kiyo thought.

That's no excuse kid… a shinobi must be prompt and on time for every occasion. You could've been sent back to academy by now. How would your father feel about you not taking this day seriously?" Konohamaru said in wonder.

Sachio looked him in the face. His face was emotionless, and it almost looked as if he didn't hear what his instructor told him. "What did you say sir?" He asked, mouth open, mind blank.

"Go take a sit Mr. Hatake." Konohamaru followed, shaking his head.

"Not cool man…" Sachio muttered walking to a vacant desk.

"Whatever…Hyuga Kiyo."

"Present sir!" Kiyo answered, raising his hand.

Konohamaru nodded, "Finally. Someone who's not willing to make a complete fool out o himself tsk tsk. Anyway…Inuzuka Kouki."

Kouki responded with a lift of his leg, the kids around him turned their heads to him in question. Then all of a sudden a loud raspberry-like sound emitted from his behind. It was stinky and wet. The students around him started to cough and scoot away from him as the smell slapped all of them in their faces.

"Jeez man!"

"Ew disgusting!"

"What the heck was that?"

The Inuzuka kid laughed loudly as the stink filled the classroom. "Hahahaha! Present! My ass is too as you can see!" He said still laughing. Konohamaru was not amused or fazed by the smell. He closed his eyes and shook his head, "You'll be headed back to the academy with Sachio soon. Clap for yourself." He said, hand covering his face. _"Ugh, what an ass…"_ He thought.

Kouki laughed like a barbarian, and started to howl like an old wolf would. Making the class even more irritated.

"Hey ass sniffer!" Ryoji shouted standing out of his desk. "How about you shut the fuck up!?"

Kouki stood out of his desk as well. With a slam of two palms simultaneously smacking on the top of his desk, the dog boy growled at him. "Why don't you come up here and make me, you little shit!?"

"Hey, hey calm down you too." Konohamaru said, "…Kaigoshi Chiyoko."

"Here." A short, mahogany-haired girl said, sitting directly in front of Konohamaru. She wore a brown shirt and pants. A huge smile stretched from one side of her face to the other, and Konohamaru loved that.

"Oh that's right…you're always here on time." He said with a smirk. "Keisan Aiko?"

"I'm here…Konohamaru-sensei…" A boy said, sitting right next to Chiyoko. He had spiked up blue hair, with one long bang in his face. He wore some thin glasses, which seemed to slide of his nose before he would push them back up again. He wore a grey jacket, over some black pants.

Wataru nudged Takane, "Rumor has it that Aiko's the kid who scored the highest Intelligence score of the exam…A perfect 5." He whispered, hand covering his mouth.

Takane's eyes widened. "A perfect five?" He almost shouted. "Isn't that impossible?"

The brown haired boy shook his head. "No…because apparently he's not the only one who scored a perfect five. But I have no idea who it could be."

Konohamaru cleared his throat. "Kosumosu Ryoji. The hothead."

Ryoji didn't reply.

Konohamaru chuckled a bit, and turned back to his attendance sheet, "Mamoru Takane."

Takane waved to him.

He nodded and shouted, "Suzushi Yukikisu."

"Umm…Here." A shy and quiet voice sounded from the first row. A girl raised her hand very slowly and only a little bit high. She wasn't even making eye contact with her former teacher. Yukikisu had short blue hair and reminded Kiyo of his aunt Hinata, she seemed very nervous. She wore a long sleeve black shirt with long black pants. On her head she wore earmuffs, which rested over her ears.

"What's up with the earmuffs, it can't be that cold in here…" Ryoji whispered to Kiyo.

Konohamaru could always sense Yukikisu's tenseness and gave her a warm smile. "Next, Honorable son…Uchiha Osamu?"

"Present." A raspy voice responded, coming from the desk slightly near the window sill. He sat with his fingers clasped tightly, eyes fixed on whatever was outside of the classroom. He was the son of the hokage. His raven-blue hair was wrapped in a ponytail, as it could easily reach the boy's lower back if he untied it. He wore a blue shirt, with grey shorts, and a pair of black sandals. He seemed uninterested as ever in the class or the students and propped his head on his left hand that was on the desk in a bored stance.

Konohamaru shook his head, "Uzura Mai."

"Here, sensei." A soft voice came from the front row again. She had golden brown hair that hung down to her back. Her eyes were a bright brown, and her one-piece suit was brilliantly covered in both maroon and gold silk. Ryoji, looking to the side noticed that she carried a large horizontal bag, with an archery bow.

Her looks were absolutely captivating for the Kosumosu boy. He froze after she tossed her long, angelic hair from side to side. Ryoji was frozen in time.

"Last but not least, Yamanaka Hanae."

A blonde flipped her hair back, "Here…gosh it's about time sensei. You should know not to make a beautiful person wait. That's such an ugly trait." She said, as she whipped out a pocket mirror. Hanae, the daughter of Ino, watched her face in the mirror, fixing every little invisible issue with her face.

Konohamaru rolled his eyes, "Okey dokie Beauty queen…"

Konohamaru exhaled.

* * *

"Welp, thank goodness that raps that up. Now I can go over squads…We tried to match you up as well as possible in order to make the teams balanced." He said. "…As I said before, each of you will be divided into teams of four…along with your Jounnin Leader."

All the students listened attentively, curious as to where they'd be put and who their teammates would be.

"Squad number one; Takane Mamoru, Kiyo Hyuga, Ryoji Kosumosu…"

The three best friends jumped out of their seats with joy, high fiving each other in excitement. "Hah! Looks like Konohamaru-sensei isn't an old bat after all!" Ryoji shouted, celebrating with his friends. Konohamaru, slightly pissed off, chose to ignore the comment, "…and Mai Uzura."

Ryoji refrained from his celebration for one split second, and looked downward at the kunoichi, who wasn't even turned around to look yet. As she twisted her neck, her shining angelic hair swayed aside, revealing her gorgeous amber eyes. Ryoji swallowed some spit and blinked nervously. The girl squinted at him is a disgusted manner, and quickly turned around. The maroon-head turned away quickly as well.

After a while, Konohamaru said, "Squad three; Kazumi Haruno, Aburame Shizu, Akio Keisan, and Sachio Hatake."

The pink haired girl frowned, and looked at all three of her teammates scattered across the room. Shizu paid no mind to the announcement, and continued to play with her pet. Sachio lay deep asleep on his desk. Akio stared back at her from the front row, cheeks rosy pink, and his constant eye glass realigning. _"Oh gosh…" _She thought, _"Why'd I have to get the freak, the bum, and the nerd in my group...?" _

"_Finally I can profess my love to Kazumi Haruno…this can't be happening." _Akio thought, a snot bubble blowing under his nose.

"Squad Four; Hanae Yamanaka, Chosamu Akimichi, Chiyoko Kaigoshi, and Wataru."

Wataru's head dropped, "Ugh. Anything but Hanae and Chosamu…this won't be fun at all."

Hanae scrunched her face, rolled her eyes, and finished the combo off with a hair flip. _"All ugly people I see…maybe they can do the missions for me. Uglies can afford to get dirty." _She looked over her nails, and cringed at the sight of Chosamu, who was too busy eating snacks to notice his name was called.

Chiyoko gulped down hard, and looked back up at Hanae, who was blowing on her nails. Sweat dropped down her forehead, and she wiped it off with her arm.

A few minutes later, Konohamaru was finally done with his listings. "Squad six; Hideharu Gekko, Yukikisu Suzushi, Kouki Inuzuka, and Osamu Uchiha."

Kouki smirked a bit, "This should be fun…"

Yukikisu looked uncomfortable. She surely wasn't too happy about sharing a group with a guy that farts as loud as Kouki. The armor on Hideharu also frightened her a little bit. The blue-haired kunoichi stared at both of them from afar, not uttering a single word.

Osamu was as motionless as a statue. He didn't react one bit to hearing his teammates, and continued to stare out of the window. The only word he ushered out was a silent "Hmph" from under his breath.

Konohamaru finally set the clipboard down. He leaned against his desk and took an exhale. He folded his arms, and smiled at his former students. "…Now that's that. We're all done. Tomorrow you and your squad members will report to the assigned classroom to have a meeting with your Jounnin instructors. Don't be late!"

"Yes sir!" The class replied in unison.

**~The Partnerships have been revealed! What will manifest from these newly crafted bonds?~**


	5. Genma Shiranui!

**Chapter 4: ****Genma** **Shiranui!**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Egao waters plants in her garden happily, while Ryoji, Kiyo, Takane, and Wataru struggle to plant a new one. Ryoji and Takane covered from head to toe in dirt, Kiyo scratching his head, and Wataru reads instructions that are upside down.**

* * *

"Where is this dude!?" Ryoji shouted, kicking over a rather large desk in anger. "It's been two hours! What the hell does he think this is!?" Fumes emitted from his stout ears, and his teeth clenched together as he kept his hands tight.

The clock in the corner of the empty classroom read "9:03"; Kiyo took a glance at his note. It read, _"Classroom #300, 7:00 sharp." _The Hyuga took a deep sigh and reclined in his chair. His mother and aunt had always taught him that patience is a virtue, so he decided not to respond to Ryoji's onslaught.

Takane, head in his folded arms, didn't even look up to see the damage to the poor desk. "Just calm down Ryo…" he said, voice muffled under his arms, "…he'll be here any second."

The girl, who was almost like an intruder to the three best friend's shenanigans, said nothing. She sat with her arms crossed, looking almost irritated.

"You said that two hours ago! And you said it again one hour ago!" Ryoji snapped back. "If this asshole doesn't come in five minutes, I'm leaving!" He shouted, pouting.

Suddenly, the door opened behind Ryoji. He spun around quickly to see what was behind him. From behind the door, a voice echoed, "…and if you leave…". A hand came and pushed the door open. A man about six-foot tall entered the room. He had slick brown hair which lowered down to his shoulders on both sides and calm brown eyes. He wore a typical Jonin outfit, and wore his headband on the end of a navy blue bandana, which covered his head. A long brown toothpick came from his mouth.

"…You might as well have Konohamaru sign you up for four more years as an academy student." He said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Ryoji's sweat dropped from his forehead, he gulped quickly. Takane rose out of his arms, and looked up at the man. Kiyo and Mai turned their attention to him as well. He propped himself in the front of the classroom, making himself the center of attention. He took a second to look over the four new gennin. He then smiled at them, removing the toothpick from his mouth. The man twirled it in his fingers, "…I'm assuming you guys are Squad One?"

Mai rose up out of her seat. "Yes, sir." She said, stepping up to the bandana-wearing Jonin eagerly. "…My name is Mai Uzura. I'm excited to be your pupil." She reached her arm out for a handshake.

The Jonin looked at her outstretched arm. He stuck his toothpick back into his mouth, "…How disappointing." He said coldly of the group, ignoring the gesture completely.

Mai's mouth dropped slightly, but she bowed and backed away from him.

"…I want to get all this nonsense over with as fast as possible. So, if you brats come with me, I can get you all out of here in the next half hour."

Ryoji rolled his eyes, "…But you had no problem keeping us waiting for two hours huh..?" He muttered under his breath, folding his arms.

The man turned towards him, "No need to be a smartass about these things…if you have something to say you should speak up."

The man unleashed a warm smile at the boy, who was once again fuming in frustration. In a quick instant, he disappeared into smoke.

* * *

The four of them sat out on a very high ledge which overlooked all of Konohagakure. The day was bright and sunny, and in itself, felt like the physical embodiment of a new beginning. Ryoji, Kiyo, Takane, and Mai each sat on a pair of steps leading onto another platform. The Jonin leaned against a ledge and looked over them.

"...We'll start off with names." The man said, "I had originally decided to introduce myself in the classroom, but I decided that you weren't worth my effort at the moment. But, I've had a slight change of heart."

The students all cringed at the statement, but each wisely decided to ignore it.

"_This guy's a real ass…" _Thought Kiyo, sweat dripping.

"My Name is Genma Shiranui. I've been a leaf ninja all my life, and I learned from the fourth himself." The man proclaimed proudly. "I don't really care to inform you guys on anything else about me...because unlike you four, I've proved myself to my village. Now, tell me a little bit about yourselves. Goals, likes, dislikes, dreams…I don't know, be creative."

The four looked amongst each other, wondering who would be the first one to start. "Oh! I know…" Genma interrupted, "How about you wiseass?" He pointed his toothpick to Ryoji, who was staring dead at him with mean eyes. "You seem the most interesting to me anyway."

Ryoji took a deep sigh, "Ummm…" He scratched his head little bit, "…The name's Kosumosu Ryoji! I like kicking ass and getting stronger every day. So far I really dislike you!" He shouted with a growl. "…But one day, I wanna be Hokage, and I'll get there no matter what it takes!"

Genma raised an eyebrow. _"Spunk…" _ He thought, with a slight smirk. _"…This kids gonna be a riot." _He nodded at Takane who sat next to him.

"Well ummm…" Takane answered, as sweat began to perspire on his forehead under his hat. He took it off forcefully, "I'm Mamoru Takane; I like to read, and hang out with my friends. Umm, I don't really dislike many things. But one day, I think I wanna be the best shinobi I can be and protect all my friends and family."

"_Hmm…I feel some insecurity here." _Genma smiled, "Good goals there kid. I'm sure you'll reach them. You next."

Kiyo straightened his posture comfortably, and put on a noble and stern face. "I am Hyuga Kiyo. I hail from the Hyuga clan and I am the son of Neji Hyuga. I like my family, and my village. I dislike anyone who goes against my family and my village. And one day, I hope to…well…" Kiyo stopped. It seemed like he had his whole speech planed out from square one, however, at this moment he froze.

The Hyuga boy stared at Genma, frozen in nervous-ness. Ryoji, Takane, and Mai looked up at him in confusion. Genma crossed his arms and observed the boy. Kiyo's mouth slightly dropped open, his body went numb and soon all he could feel was his legs becoming weaker and weaker. No matter how hard he tried to utter out another word, he could not.

"You ok kid?" Asked the Jonin, turning his head slightly to the side. "…You don't gotta finish the question if you don't want to ok?"

Kiyo could do nothing but frantically nod his head. He sat down as fast as he could a took a deep breath. That instant, his anxiety calmed down. Genma scratched his chin, _"Son of the great Neji Hyuga eh? This should be intriguing." _

"Lastly you, Kunoichi. Your name was what… Bulma or something, right?" Genma asked turning his attention to Mai.

Mai twitched a little. _"Ugh! What a pig!" _Her inner self shouted, growling inside the walls of her sub-conscious. "No sir…" She said out loud slightly irritated. She dusted off her clothes and stood up. "My name is Mai Uzura, hailing from the mighty Uzura clan…"

Ryoji nudged Takane, "Mighty..? I wouldn't call a bunch of Bird watchers 'mighty'!" He said to him giggling. The boy both snickered underneath their breaths, unaware that a fuming Mai stood right behind them. She clocked both boys right over the heads simultaneously with a hard double-slap.

"Owwww"

"Ouch!"

"I hate when people talk shit about my clan!" She said, still referring to Genma's question. "I'll have you two douchebags know that my clan has been one of the most successful in our village's history! You're not going to disrespect us!" The boys had two swollen lumps on their heads, and writhed in pain.

Genma chuckled.

"…Well anyways, I plan on becoming one of the greatest Kunoichi to ever serve this village. And eventually become the second female Hokage, following in the footsteps of my idol…Lady Tsunade!" Mai clutched her fist, and fire burned in her eyes.

"Big dreams kiddo, I like that." Replied Genma, "…this seems like an interesting bunch here, however now I needa go over some things with the four of you."

The four gennin looked up at him attentively.

"…Now, I'm going to need you guys not to freak out." He said with a laugh, easing himself off the rail.

Mai narrowed her eyes, "…Why would we?"

"…Well…" Genma muttered as he put both hands on his hips. "It turns out that, out of the 24 graduates, only 16 of you will actually become gennin. Therefore, only 4 out of the six squads will make the cut…"

"What!?" The four kids yelled in shock, looking amongst each other. "…Genma-Sensei, what does that mean exactly?" Kiyo asked, raising a hand, "Since we're already partnered up by Konohamaru-sensei, we can't possibly be split up? Can we?"

"Not exactly." Genma answered, putting both hands behind is head. "…If I decide to, I can drop any one of you off this roster. As long as 16 of you graduates make the cut amongst each of the six groups, we can easily rearrange you, according to who was cut and who stayed."

"So how would you decide who to cut?!" Takane asked; sweat building up on his forehead.

The brown-haired jonin smirked, "Funny you might ask mummy head." He sighed slightly, and sucked in some air. "…One week from now…You all will be tested"

"Tested how!?" Shouted Ryoji, frustrated with the way things were turning.

"Each team will have to endure a specific training exercise set up by their Jonin leaders. For me however, you'll have to do a simple survival exercise…"

"_Survival exercise..?" _Mai thought, slightly nervous.

"I'll go over the instructions more when the time comes…but I suggest that you guys start your training as soon as you leave this little meeting of ours. You have 7 days…more than enough time to get your shit together." Genma continued. He seemingly got joy out of seeing the horror on his student's faces.

"What the fuck does that mean!? You're telling us we worked so hard for four years and it could all be for nothing!" Ryoji shouted, standing out of his seat.

Genma laughed hardily, holding onto his stomach. "Why…that's exactly what it means!" He blurted out, still busting his sides.

The Jonin calmed down as Ryoji's head dropped to the ground in sorrow. He put his hands in his pockets and looked over his students one last time. "Remember what I said…seven days…"

He showed them a simple hand seal, and poofed in a cloud of white smoke.

The four kids sat there in disbelief, and each one was speechless. At this point, they all realized that their lives were moving faster than the speed of light.

**~A quick reality check from a man that moves like wind. Seven days until Survival Training starts now! ~**

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**_This was a lot shorter chapter than I'm used to writing. I intended on this because my goal was to take one chapter to introduce Genma. So don't worry, I'm not getting lazy on you guys at all! Lol_


	6. The Building Blocks of Teamwork

**Chapter 5:** The** Building Blocks of Teamwork **

**Chapter Illustration: ****Mai brushes her hair, looking into the mirror of her bedroom. Takane and Ryoji jump on her bed while wrestling each other. Wataru looks at all of the girly products in confusion.**

* * *

Three men sat in the break room at the Ninja Academy that evening. One of the three was Konohamaru Sarutobi who sat at the end of a circular table. Two other men sat on either side, both of whom were leaf Jonin. One was a taller man, who had wild black hair and dark brown eyes. The bridge of his nose was wrapped in bandages, and the bottom of his chin was a brightly painted red. He wore a standard leaf shinobi flak jacket. This man's name was Kotetsu Hagane.

The other man was Izumo Kamizuki. He was slightly shorter, and looked a lot less intense than Kotetsu. He had brown hair which was combed down into a bang covering his right eye. Covering over his head was a navy blue bandana, just like Genma's, which had his headband at the end. He wore the same exact outfit as the man across the table.

The two had been friends for many years, and were able to reach the level of Jonin together. Rumor had it that when the two of them teamed up in battle, their power quadrupled the amount of the standard four man squad. Now, at this point in their lives, they had decided to become Jonin leaders of the new generation of gennin.

"It's just typical Genma and Yugao to be this late…they never fail." Kotetsu said, scratching his itchy scalp. "I know Yugao's a busy woman, but Genma doesn't do a damn thing, what could make him this late all the time?"

Izumo took a sigh, "Captain Genma is a little unsound, you know that Kotetsu. Plus, I bet whatever he's doing is reasonable. You've never been a very patient guy anyway." The two smirked at each other in only a way two best friends could. Konohamaru took a sip from a water bottle.

"So what do you guys think of them?" He asked.

The two friends looked at Konohamaru in confusion. "Who? Genma and Yugao?"

"No…" The honorable grandson said shaking his head. "…Your new students."

Kotetsu scoffed and threw his hands behind his head. "Hmph, they're a bunch of brats! Especially Kakashi Hatake's kid, what's his issue?"

Konohamaru chuckled a little bit. He knew where Kotetsu was coming from. "Sachio, huh? He's a good kid; just someone you gotta baby a little bit."

Izumo was just about to add his input when two puffs of smoke appeared in the far part of the room. Out of the shadows came two bodies, one of which held a long toothpick in its mouth. "Sheesh…finally." Kotetsu muttered under his breath.

Genma appeared slowly, his hands in his pockets. He had a smug grin on his face but still kept the low and calm demeanor he's always had. Next to him was a woman with long purple hair. Her face was soft and gentle; she looked every bit of "woman" as possible. Just like all of the other men in the room, she was wearing a flak jacket and navy blue pants.

Genma put his arms up, "Sorry I'm late…"he said. "Yugao here had an issue with her lips that needed my assistance." A cheesy smile smeared across his face.

Yugao rolled her dark eyes, "…That's such a lie. He caught up to me on my way up here. Have you guys started any discussions?" she asked pulling up a chair next to Izumo.

"No. We were just starting actually." Izumo responded. The two jounin pulled up chairs.

Konohamaru looked over the four of them, who all had their focuses on him. The Sarutobi clansmen clasped his hands and placed them on the table. "So…I was originally asking Izumo and Kotetsu what they thought about the graduating class this year. But now, since you guys are here, we can restart. Any first impressions?"

"Well I said it once, and I'll say it again…" Kotetsu grunted, "…They all come off as weirdos to me. They're definitely a strange…er… group of brats."

"Believe it or not Kotetsu, your group has a lot of potential." Started the academy teacher, "…Aiko Keisan scored a perfect 5 on the Academy exam, in the mission intelligence portion…that's the first perfect score we've had on that section since Shikamaru Nara was in the academy. Iruka sensei told me that the average for a graduating academy student is a 2.5."

The four Jonin gasped, "A perfect five?" they all said in unison, utterly stunned.

Konohamaru smiled, "Yep, that him…but believe it or not he didn't get the top overall score in the whole academy, even with a perfect 5 in that section."

He looked at Yugao, "…It was one of your pupils Yugao. Osamu Uchiha…"

Genma snickered, and shook his head. "…That's exactly what I would expect from the son of the Hokage. After all, he does have both Uchiha and Uzumaki blood in him…isn't that correct?"

Konohamaru nodded in acknowledgement. "He's a special kid. I think he has the potential to be even better than his father."

Izumo raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a statement there, honorable grandson." He said doubtfully.

"I've watched these kids for four years…I know them well." He replied. "…I have no doubt that each of the sixteen divided amongst your squads will pass the individual gennin exam…I'm not too sure about the two other groups."

Genma seemed to perk up really quickly; he patted his hand on the table. "…By the way that reminds me…" He said taking the toothpick out of his mouth. "…Ryoji Kosumosu…he intrigues me. What did his scores look like?"

Konohamaru took a deep sigh, and reclined back into his chair. "…He's…he is an interesting prospect. He scored a failing 1 on everything…hand seals, ninja terminology, mission intelligence, calculus, Shinobi history. He bombed everything…"

"So how the hell did you pass him?" Yugao asked, slightly disgusted.

"Well…his taijutsu scored an above average 3.5 rating, that's not the sole reason why I let him slip however…"" The young teacher said, pulling a piece out of paper from his bag. He pointed to a number in the center of the rows and columns.

A marking was circled in bold red ink.

* * *

_**-Flashback-**_

Konohamaru slugged down the hallways of the empty academy building. Three days of proctoring little kid's exams could drain the soul out of any man. However, it was finally over and now after one more meeting with his predecessor, he could finally go home and relax. He reached a door, and used his keys to unlock it.

He went inside the room and grabbed a stack of papers with a small note on top, which read, _"Final Exam results: Konohamaru Sarutobi." _ He stuffed them in his bag and left the room.

In a half hour, Konohamaru arrived at an old home, which was way down the road from the academy. He wondered why the house was so far away if the owner had once been a dedicated academy teacher. This was the home of none other than Iruka Umino. Umino had been responsible for raising and passing the will of fire onto some of the leaf village's brightest shinobi. His accomplishments as a school teacher was well documented, and allowed him to retire peacefully.

Konohamaru knocked on the door, which was answered by the man himself soon afterward. Iruka was still very tall and slim like his younger years. His hair slightly greyed, and was let out of his famous ponytail. The deep scar across his nose stayed intact. The man's face went from neutral to light excitement to see his former student at his porch.

"Konohamaru! How have you been?" He asked, rustling the young man's hair as if he were still eight years old.

The boy squirmed a little bit, and fixed his hair. "…I've been great Iruka-Sensei."

"…You've grown so much…how's the academy?"

"It's actually great; the kids just finished their graduation exams today." The Sarutobi said with a laugh.

"Ah that's right…how'd that whole thing go?" Iruka asked, gesturing Konohamaru to come inside. He followed Iruka inside the home.

"Well Iruka-sensei…that's what I've been meaning to talk to you about…" He said.

The two sat down at a table in the kitchen, directly across from each other. Konohamaru set his bag down next to him and pulled out the stack of papers from it. He placed them flat on the table in front of him, then quickly flipped to a page in the stack which read, _"Ryoji Kosumosu"._

His pointer finger slid first to the right, stopped at the column "Chakra Sustention." , and was carried all the way down to the middle of the page. He pointed to a score marked in big red letters.

**270.**

Iruka coughed violently upon seeing the number, almost choking on his own spit. Konohamaru stared at him with a straight face, eyes wide open. "…I don't understand it either Iruka-Sensei."

The older man grabbed the paper fiercely. His hands started to grow sweaty and shook uncontrollably. "…well isn't that amazing…" He said, voice trembling. "Triple the average…even for a Jonin…"

**-End of Flashback-**

* * *

"270..?" Asked Yugao, "That's way too high for any shinobi."

The academy teacher scratched his head, "Well it's the truth. Funny thing is that the kid has no control over it…and he can't seem to grasp the concept of hand seals at all. So Ninjutsu and Genjutsu seem to be completely out of the window at this point in time."

Genma smirked. _"Heh…this Kid…I can't wait to try him out…" _

Konohamaru took a sip of his drink and placed it on the table again. He put the pieces of paper back into his bag. "It's looking like the most talented in the class is Osamu Uchiha, who had nothing less than a 3.5 in any section of the test." He said, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Kiyo Hyuga is another well rounded kid, along with Takane Mamoru and Mai Uzura, Genma. They all had very balanced scores, none of them falling too low in terms of points."

Genma nodded, satisfied with his team. He didn't really even listen to Konohamaru much after he heard about Ryoji's chakra score. He was extremely excited; he hadn't seen any shinobi with that kind of raw ability since the sage himself in the chunin exams many years ago.

Konohamaru turned to Kotetsu.

"Kazumi Haruno excels in Taijutsu, like you would've probably guessed Kotetsu. However, with her mother being one of the best medical-nins in the world, she's quite adequate at Chakra control as well. Shizu Aburame and Sachio Hatake could even be more skilled than her…but they'll take time to figure out."

"Hmph. I won't disagree with that." Kotetsu replied, with a yawn.

"Yugao…you probably have the most talented group of the bunch. Osamu is a definite prodigy; I have no doubts about that one. Yukikisu Suzushi is also skilled, and has relatively good chakra levels. And also, Kouki, the son of Kiba Inuzuka, is going to be a pretty formidable shinobi as well…you know, nothing you wouldn't expect from an Inuzuka clan member." Continued Konohamaru.

Yugao nodded, "I actually liked who I got. But…there's also the one that calls himself Hideharu…he reminds me of Hayate a little." She said.

Konohamaru smiled at his name, "Oh I almost forgot. He's a model student. His learning curve will be pretty steep though, after all he wasn't necessarily born to be a shinobi."

The purple-haired jonin slightly smirked, "I'm actually going to get a better look at the kid now. I'll catch up with you boys later. Goodbye."

She disappeared into a cloud of smoke, to the surprise of the four other men in there.

"Who knows what she means by that..? Get a better look at him?" Izumo said, waving smoke away from his face. He shook off the thought.

"But anyway…it seems as if I was able to nab the famous Ino-Shika-Cho descendants huh? Well, um, without the whole 'shika' part."

"Yea…it seems as if no Naras entered the academy in the past years, Shikamaru apparently was the last one. But you should still be fine with Hanae Yamanaka and Chosamu Akimichi. You'll also be responsible for two of our brightest students in Chiyoko Kaigoshi and Wataru."

Izumo seemed to like the fact that he had control. "Satisfied…I think it's about time that Kotetsu and I headed out." He said, standing up and pushing back his seat. Kotetsu nodded, and arose as well. "We'll see you around Konohamaru, Genma."

The two friends poofed into smoke.

Genma and Konohamaru sat at the table alone. The bandana wearing ninja smirked at him and stretched his airs up in the air. "…So this Ryoji kid is pretty special you said?" He asked.

Konohamaru smiled back, gathering his things. "Special is an understatement. But watch out for that… uhh…colorful personality he's got. That temper isn't anything to mess around with."

The two finally disappeared, turning into smoke.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

"…And then he said that we had only seven days to prepare! What the heck?" Ryoji shouted. He tugged on the shirt of a highly irritated Wataru, blowing his nose and wiping his tears on his shirt. Wataru pushed his head off of him. "How the heck are we even supposed to prepare? He didn't even tell us what kind of training we'd even do?"

Ryoji and Wataru were with Takane and, surprisingly, Mai Uzura that morning. The four of them sat on top of a house which overlooked the entire market section of the village.

Takane and Mai leaned against the rail and watched Ryoji's big fit of madness. "Is this what he does often?" The Kunoichi asked Takane with a straight face. "It's pretty freaking sad to be honest…"

"Yep. This is Ryo for you." Takane answered. He got up and dragged his whiny friend off of Wataru. "It was a pretty surprising deal…" The boy with the Arabian hat said to his brown-haired friend. "I mean we just came off of the graduation exams for goodness sake." His hands griped on Ryoji's legs.

Wataru turned his glance over to Mai, who was still sitting on the railing. "So…Why're you here with us again..?" He asked, sweat dropping from his forehead. This made the Kunoichi glare at him slightly.

"Well…" She said. "I decided what better way to establish a connection with my new teammates than to see what you guys do all day. So Takane said I was welcome to hang out with you guys."

Although Wataru found this pretty strange, when he looked at Takane, he was greeted by a nervous shrug. He decided to drop it.

"How was your meeting with your new squad though, Wataru?" Takane asked.

Wataru rolled his eyes, "Such a drag." He said, putting his hands behind his head. "The guy talked to us for like 100 hours. Ninja this, ninja that. But he was a pretty chill dude, didn't come off as an ass like Konohamaru-sensei did. He said we have a Gennin exam as well in seven days, and any one of us is susceptible to failing." He said with a shrug, not really showing any emotion. "What the hell happened to Kiyo?"

"Ugh. I think he said something about training with his aunt and mom for the next few days unfortunately…." Takane grumbled, not knowing his hot head friend had got back up to his feet.

"That's bullshit! How come we worked so fucking hard in the ninja academy for nothing!?" Ryoji shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "There's no way they could just dick us around like that! Four years wasted for-"

"Shut up..!"

The wind zipped past Ryoji's maroon eyes, stopping his tongue from moving immediately. Takane and Wataru stood silently, and turned in the direction of Mai. The brown-haired girl held a bow in a ready position pointed right at Ryoji, without an arrow set in it. Ryoji was wide eyed. It took a few second to realize what had happened. He looked in the opposite direction and saw an arrow deeply lodged into the rock ledge.

"…Don't you understand you monkey?" She asked, her eyes burning like a flame. Her face was stoic and unwavering, and the wind blew her hair magnificently as if she wasn't even of human flesh. "That's what being a shinobi is about…accepting any challenge at any time."

She put her bow down on the ground, stepping on it so it wouldn't be moved by the wind. "…Your goal was to become Hokage…but so far it seems all you do is whine and complain. What the heck type of Hokage is that? Not one that runs a village I know that!"

Ryoji's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I don't know how we're gonna complete any missions with a big baby like you on our team…"

She turned her back to the boys. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna do what Kiyo's doing and start my training now. See ya."

Mai disappeared in smoke after grabbing her bow.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

Shizu adjusted her thick glasses as she focused on the ridges of a big tree. Mid-day was approaching quickly, and no one could tell how long the Kunoichi had been outside.

In between the ridges and cracks of the old tree was a leaf which seemed to be moving itself up the three. However, being from the Aburame clan, Shizu knew that these strange phenomena couldn't happen without the help of very tiny insects. She could see about five small insects helping each other carry the leaf up the tree. She watched in pure and utter fascination at the sight.

Each stumble the bugs made on the trip upward made her smile, it was as if she was watching a toddler take its first steps on two feet from a life of crawling on all fours. However, she couldn't help but feel as if something was missing. This morning she had met Kotetsu Hagane, and attended the first meeting with Sachio Hatake, Kazumi Haruno, and Akio Keisan, her new teammates. She felt nothing for them. They just seemed like another nuisance, all four of them.

"There you are…" A voice said from behind the girl. She didn't even bother to turn around toward it, as she already knew who it was.

"You know you shouldn't disappear all morning. Your mother misses you." It said. Standing there was a man with a green flak jacket and a black body suit underneath. His thick black shades matched hers.

"Father…I'm always here. You know that." Shizu said softly, turning to see him.

The man was Shino Aburame, a revered jonin in the Hidden Leaf. His hands were lodged deeply in his pockets. "How was your meeting?" He asked her, voice as muffled as possible.

"Worthless." She responded coldly, focusing her energy back on the bugs.

Shino frowned at her from underneath the black cloth covering his mouth. "Nothing is worthless Shizu..."

"They are. They are almost as worthless as the rest of these people…all they want to do is become shinobi so they can destroy each other again. All they are is animals…"

Shino said nothing; all he could do is listen.

"I feel like I'm next in line…" Shizu said putting her head down. "Next in line to be one of this world's killer puppets…I'd rather be an animal…so that all I have to do is be on my own."

Her father walked up next to her, and stood. He also recognized the bugs that she was watching. "I understand. That's a normal feeling for a shinobi…" Shino looked into the air, butterflies flew overhead. "…But as a shinobi, our goal is to hopefully rid the world of all this senseless fighting…you must commit your whole soul to that cause. Puppets don't have souls…"

Shizu looked up at her father, "What about all of them father? They don't understand…I hate them."

Shino's eyes widened. He never knew that his daughter felt so strongly about this. "Shizu…don't say such things, you should care for your village, and love your teammates…" He knelt over and watched the insects finally reach a hole in the tree, where they helped each other push the leaf inside. "…because without them, you wouldn't survive. Just like these insects carrying food. Your teammates will always have your back, and maybe with their help we can rid the world of this animalistic violence…"

The bug master patted his daughter's head, and walked away.

A smile crossed her face. Her daddy always knew best.

**~The Gennin Exam looms over the heads of the young shinobi…Six days were left. ~**


	7. Exceeded Expectations

**Chapter 6: Exceeded Expectations**

**Chapter Illustration: Genma rides on a giant turtle, hands behind his head and legs crossed. Kiyo and Takane struggle to push it, sweating bullets.**

* * *

Clouds rolled by on a sunny day. The breeze was calm and gentle, rustling the leaves and shaking the many trees that stood proudly in Konoha. It had already been a few days since the gennin hopefuls had met their new teachers, but they still had some days to go before enduring their actual gennin exams.

The leaf village park was a place where young mothers took their children to play, and where the elderly walked around on a cement roundabout for hours at a time. Today however, the park was, for the most part, empty.

On the swing set sat two of the gennin hopefuls, Sachio Hatake and Akio Keisan. The grey haired boy swung back and forth on the swing in quite a fierce fashion. It seemed like he had not one care in the world.

Akio, who was stationary, watched his new teammate go back and forth on the swing. Sweat dropped from his forehead, and his foot tapped in the dirt. He pushed his glasses up and took a slight inhale and exhale. "…You know I can't help but be a little nervous about this upcoming weekend…" He said, with a low quiet voice.

Surprisingly, Sachio was able to hear him. "For what?" was his response, still swinging.

Akio looked up at him slightly surprised by his aloofness. "Did you forget about our exam? This is kinda a big deal you know."

"I…didn't…forget..." He responded in-between swings, still with no sense of urgency in his voice.

"So why doesn't this bother you? We're at a huge disadvantage. This could result in some terrible outcomes. " Akio responded, scratching his chin nervously.

Sachio planted his two feet into the ground and stopped the swing set. "…It's not a big deal man. Relax…" His two eyes looked deep into Akio's, piercing through his glasses.

More sweat dropped from Akio's forehead, he just couldn't understand how this kid could take something so serious, so lightly. "Relax? Relax?!" He said with his nose flaring. "How can you say that so carelessly? Don't you understand what's at stake here? We could all be sent back to the academy."

Sachio just blankly stared at him, mouth open.

"…If one of us screws up, the fate of all four of us could be jeopardized. That's no joking matter Sachio. It doesn't seem like you even want to be a shinobi!" Akio shouted, pushing himself off the swing set and propping his hands on his hips. Sachio continued to stare at him, it gave Akio the impression that he had zoned out as usual.

"What's the matter with you!? It's not logical for someone to be this calm under pressure."

"I guess I am…everything doesn't gotta be logical bro."

"I don't want to hear it! Did your dad not teach you any better?!" Shouted the blue-haired boy, turning his body away from his teammate.

Sachio closed his mouth, and his face turned stoic. He looked away from Akio, his vision seemingly traveling past the jungle gyms of the Konoha Park. A long silence followed, all the two boys could hear was the calming winds.

Akio turned halfway towards Sachio, "…Hey, I didn't mean that. I overreacted." He said, scratching his head. Sachio looked up at him; a light smile crossed his face. "It's no biggie. People always say that kind of stuff to me."

The blue-haired boy pushed in his glasses. He couldn't help but feel guilty about what he'd said even though Sachio showed no sign of pain or worry. Akio wasn't a mean spirited person, but the pressure of this upcoming exam was truly driving him nuts. "So…" He said. "It doesn't bother you or anything?"

Sachio chuckled a bit, and looked into the clouded sky. "At one point it did…I guess I just know myself at this point."

His teammate sat back on the swing baffled. "..What do you mean? I don't understand."

"I mean I know who the heck my dad is. He was great and all, and did great things for this village. But he's always told me that I'm Sachio Hatake…not Kakashi Hatake. It's about finding out what my Nindo is. Not my dad's."

Akio nodded in submission, "…It's just that you act so…"

"Dumb? I've heard that one before too. But what can I do about it? Act like everyone who's supposedly 'smart' or 'intelligent'? What is that crap anyway, what would make me smart or intelligent in your eyes anyway? High test scores or something?" Sachio said, with humor in his heart. "…I block out negativity bro. As a shinobi, I don't think there's space for that stuff."

Akio looked at him in wonder; he ended up smirking however, and pushed his glasses up again for a final time. "…You hungry Sachio? Ichiraku's just around the corner."

"Hell yea!" He said, "I was waiting for you to ask me already."

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

Chiyoko rested her bag on the side of her at the bank of a small lake in Konoha. The lake was clear and blue, with a large brown bridge connecting from one side to the other. She took in the beautiful scenery of the lake, and was able to hear all the sounds of nature swirling around her. The mahogany-haired girl loved to have the whole lake to herself in the mornings. She kicked off the black sandals, and tip-toed down to the water's edge. Dipping her silky-skinned toes into the cool water took her mind of the heat.

Chiyoko sat down and opened her bag, pulling out a thick book. She took a light lick of her finger and flipped through the pages of the book until she reached a page with the corner folded up. _"Aha. Antidote classifications!" _She thought, her face filled with excitement. The girl started to study the large book diligently.

Meanwhile, Wataru walked down the street alone, his hands buried deep inside his pockets. His stomach grumbled and his feet ached, but he tried his best to ignore it. The boy had no money at all to even buy food, and his he had no place to rest.

"Ugh…this is such a problem…" He muttered to himself.

Within minutes, the boy reached the same small lake that Chiyoko had came to earlier. He sighed, "…it's the perfect place to chill and sleep…but there's no food over there."

Wataru turned to leave but something caught his eye. He turned and took a closer look at the lake bank. He spotted Chiyoko reading a big book. Wataru blinked twice in surprise; to make sure what he was seeing wasn't just a hunger mirage. "Hey…it's that girl…." He said to himself, under his breath.

He took his steps down the cement stepping stones. While doing so, he fixed his hair, brushed off his clothes, blew his breath into his hand and sniffed it. He didn't realize that he was even ignoring his hunger to look as calm and cool as possible. Wataru finally reached her; he stood behind her while she had absolutely no awareness of his presence.

Chiyoko was deeply invested into her book, more than anyone Wataru had ever seen before. As he stood behind her in silence, he mustered up his lines while his eyes were glued to her small feet gently causing ripples in the water. "Uh…hey what's up." He said, after an exhale. Chiyoko snapped out of her trance and looked back at him. At first, she gave him a look of confusion, but it quickly transformed into a hearty smile. "Oh! Hey! How are you?" She asked, closing her book slightly.

Wataru was slightly relieved that he wasn't blown off within seconds. "I'm cool. I just came here to relax or something. Do you come here a lot?" He asked her.

"Yea…every now and then." She replied.

"So…uh… you're names Chiyoko Kaigoshi right?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.

She nodded at him with her same cute smile and rosy red cheeks, "Oh my..! I can't believe you actually remembered my name."

Wataru blushed slightly, "Whelp, it's such a beautiful name how could I forget." He sat down next to her, and took off his beat up sandals. He dipped his feet into the water next to her.

"You're Wataru.." She said, with a hint of questioning in her voice.

"Well shit." Wataru said, now looking into her face. "I'm even more surprised that you remembered. People always mistake me for someone else.

Chiyoko giggled at the statement, "Aww." She joked, making a puppy face. "I promise, I'll always know who you are."

Wataru chuckled, "This pop exam is going to be such a bummer. What are you studying over there?" He asked, pointing to the book. "…last week cramming on how to fight?" He said with a laugh.

Chiyoko shook her head and lifted the book off of the grassy floor. She placed it on her lap in a position that she was showing Wataru the cover. The big black book read in emerald letters, _"Medical Drug Classification Guide." _The main book of all aspiring medic-nin, Wataru had heard of it before. "Oh…you want to be a medical-nin…you told us in our group meeting the other day, I remember."

She nodded at him, "Yep. That's the goal."

"But shouldn't you be training? I mean I don't know what understanding drugs will do for a survival test."

Chiyoko paused for a second, and put the book down. "…You can say I'm looking a bit past that. I've always been able to get by those type of things." She took one of her feet out of the water, "…Nothing's going to keep me from my goal Wataru."

Wataru smiled at her softly, "It's quite a goal, I must say. A medic-nin is such troublesome work."

"Not just a regular old medical-nin, silly." She said with a giggle. "I want to become the best medical nin...even surpassing the likes of Lady Tsunade, Lady Shizune, and Lady Sakura Haruno. I want to be able to help everyone all across the world…make sickness a thing of the past."

Wataru paused, his mouth a little numb from keeping it open. He couldn't believe a girl could have so much ambition. For him to even fathom that goal would've been too much stress for him, let alone actually try to pursue it. He'd always known he was on the lazy side of things, but it wasn't until now that he actually paid attention to the flaw. "Whoa...but sickness is inevitable you know…don't things like that evolve over time?" He asked, still stunned.

"Yea I know…but at least my effort will make this world a better place. Even if it's only by a tiny bit." She said once again smiling at him. "…But until then, I gotta keep working and suck up all the information I can so I can actually come close to even reaching that goal."

Wataru watched as she cracked open her book, and flipped back to her page with the folded edge. "…that right." He said, facing the lake.

He realized that he needed some damn goals to be a ninja. Not just wondering through life, looking for loose change.

**~Gennin Exam around the corner. Pressure brings out true character! ~**


	8. Dog Day Afternoon Pt 1

_**Author's Note: **__Hey fuckers! I'm quite late, but I hope you guys had a great 4__th__ of July weekend. For sure, I know that I enjoyed mine. I know I've been getting slower on my chapters, but it's mostly been because I work so damn much. But I promise I have some good stuff cooking for the upcoming chapters. My amount of views has skyrocketed since I first started Will of their Fathers, and I can't be more excited about the future! However, I would definitely like to see more reviews, I need to know how well you guys actually like the story, or if I have something to work on. Every criticism is good criticism! _

_Enjoy chapter 7 guys._

* * *

**Chapter 7:**** Dog Day Afternoon Pt. 1**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Sasuke's forehead sweats as he rustles through the pile of papers overflowing on his desk at the Hokage tower.**

* * *

"Oh my god…just look at him."

Hanae Yamanaka and a group of girls were banded together, each with some type of lunch in their possession. The blonde haired beauty peered into the sky using a pair of binoculars. She licked her lips, as her eyes stayed completely and utterly focused on her target.

The binoculars were pointed in the direction of a house which was on a higher level than the girls', who were gathered at the Konoha Park. It was a group of about 6 or so girls along with Hanae, each chewing hungrily trying to see the same thing Hanae saw on the edge of the big building.

"What Hanae? Do you see him?" One girl asked tugging on the blonde's pants.

Hanae kicked her leg, making the girl remove her hand quickly. "Of course I see him you fool!" She barked, "…a girl can't admire the beauty of her true love?"

The six girls in the group all let out a simultaneous, "Awwwwwh." Each with fluttering eyelashes, and clasped hands on the side of their cheeks.

This both annoyed Hanae and made her feel proud of herself. "…Shut up you peasants." She said, even with a small smile on her face. She handed the binoculars to one of the other girls, who grabbed it eagerly like a dog would pounce on a piece of meat.

"Seriously, each of you gets a five second look at him. I want them back as soon as possible." Hanae said, with her hands on her hips. The girls scrambled to wrestle the binoculars off of each other to see the boy. The scratched and argued back and forth while Hanae's sweat dripped. She looked towards the big building, seemingly able to see her target with her bare eyes now.

"_Osamu Uchiha…get ready to be mine." _She thought, clinching her teeth.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

Osamu sat on a window seal. His black silky hair waved in the soft wind, and his eyes were shut. His legs hung of the edge of the window into the bottomless air. Most men would never have the guts to sit and relax on such a high surface; however Osamu wasn't fazed a bit. His face was still, and his eyebrows furrowed just like his father's would.

In his hand was a bowl of white race, and the other held chopsticks. Any person could tell that he loved his quiet time. He slowly took bits of his rice, and put them into his mouth calmly. This was a deep meditation period, and also his lunch time.

Suddenly, he opened his left eye. He could sense something approaching from behind him. He turned to the door, which was still shut. The space under the door turned dark, indicating that the shadow of legs stood there. He raised an eyebrow and came into the room. Finally, a knock came from the other side. "Osamu…your friend is at the door." A woman's voice said.

Osamu sighed, put down the rice, and walked towards the door. Upon opening it, he saw his mother. She had long, red hair running down past her butt. She had bold crimson eyes, which were masked by her brown glasses. Her name was Karin Uchiha, wife of the sixth Hokage.

"Tell him to go away…I'm busy mother." Osamu said, his face a straight as possible.

"No can do. You gotta start getting out more Osamu…and it's not a 'him' by the way…it's a girl."

Osamu rolled his eyes, "…that doesn't surprise me either." He looked at his nails, and blew them.

His mother smiled at him, "You have my eyes and your father's face! You can't blame the ladies for hounding you." She said, hands on her hips.

Osamu turned away, "Whoever it is, I highly doubt she's worth my time."

"Well too bad! I already told her you're on your way down." She said patting his shoulder with some force. "Be polite." The hokage's son grumbled, and headed down the stairs.

* * *

**~Ichiraku Ramen~**

"Really? Kazumi Lee-Haruno? With the pink hair?!" Sachio shouted, as surprised as he could be.

Akio twitched; he looked from left to right in the Ichiraku ramen restaurant. No other customer seemed to pay the two of them any attention. "Could you keep it down…it's supposed to be a secret bonehead." He said, slightly annoyed.

Sachio laughed with his mouth full of noodles, even almost choking on the food. He banged his fist on the table. "What do you want?!" He said, laughing hysterically. "…You want your spirit of youth to sizzle too don't you?! Bwahahahaa!"

Akio's face was straight, "Ha ha. Very funny asshole, but seriously, I really have a thing for her. It's no laughing matter."

Sachio wiped a tear from his eye, "…That was priceless…but bro, why don't you just say something to her? Isn't she your teammate?"

"As easy as that sounds, I'm afraid I can't seem to help myself out. My nerves always kick in anytime she's around." He said, turning his noodles in circles with his chopsticks.

Sachio frowned, "…So you got butterflies?" He asked mouth still full of food.

"You can say that." Akio responded.

The son of Kakashi thought to himself as he took another large slurp. He thought about calling his mother, who had cooked the Ichiraku dish for him, but Sachio knew he didn't need a woman's advice. Ayame, Kakashi's wife, came from the back room with another two bowls of food. "Anyone still hungry..?" She asked, flapping seasoning off her apron.

"Thanks mom." And "Thanks Mrs. Hatake." Came from each boy respectively as they grabbed the dishes. From the tone of their voices, Ayame could tell that her son and his friend were deep in thought. She decided to let the boys solve the issue, and tended to another customer.

"…You know what!?" Sachio said, breaking a thoughtful silence between them, "…I'll help you out bro!" He patted his hand on Akio's scrawny shoulder.

Akio raised an eyebrow, "…You'll what? Well, I mean, how could you possibly-"

"Ah don't worry! If there's a will, there's a way right? We'll do it together!" He said, with a warm smile.

Akio smiled back at him, he knew he could trust him. "Thanks…thanks a lot." He said as he pushed his glasses up into his face.

"You'll have her beating down your door in no time! Just you wait."

Ayame noticed the change in demeanor of the two boys from across the table. She smiled and went back into the kitchen.

* * *

**~Osamu's house~**

"What do you want?" Osamu said, hands in his pockets and looking away from the girl that stood outside on his porch.

Kazumi had her hands clasped together, down near her crotch area. Her back was straight and she stood as if she was a new maid for Osamu. She had a wide smile on her face and her cheeks were as red as Osamu's eyes. Through all this however, Osamu could tell she was very nervous.

"Hey Osamu." The pink-haired girl said, voice almost cracking midway. "Umm…I wanted to know if you could hang out today or something."

Osamu watched as Kazumi's heels hoped slightly off the ground with each word she spoke. The sweat on her forehead began to roll down the side of her face. He looked her up and down, and then into her emerald eyes. He felt a big fat "no" on the edge of his tongue, but quickly held it in with all of his mental might. He took a deep sigh, because if he were to blow this girl off, his mother would never be out of his ear for it.

Osamu gulped and scratched his chin. "Al…Alright…" He said.

A look of excitement showed across her face, she even clapped her hands together happily. "Oh great! What you wanna do first?!" Kazumi asked, smiling.

Osamu frowned, _"…She asked me to hangout…and didn't have a plan?" _He thought to himself, a little bit annoyed. He ended up answering with a shrug and an awkward smile. "…Lets go for a walk maybe..?"

Kazumi nodded, "What a great Idea, you're so amazing Osamu!" She said at lightning speed, with an overly loud laugh. She tugged his arm and wrapped it around hers. Reluctantly, Osamu followed her lead and the two walked off from the home.

Out of the window, Karin watched her son with a smile. She couldn't stop reminding herself of her husband. Their son had definitely taken after his father. _"…Good job Karin…you did well for yourself." _She thought proudly.

* * *

It took a while for the two to make their pilgrimage around the leaf village. Osamu had become completely exhausted; he struggled to keep up the overly energetic girl at bay. The long day had consisted of fake smiling, uncomfortable play-fighting, and copious amounts of dealing with her very low attention span. He was drained. Girls were like little flies to him anyway, pesky and needy.

"Oh Osamu…you're so romantic. I've always dreamt of spending the whole day with you." Kazumi said, still holding onto his arm as they walked through the Konoha market place.

Osamu's everlasting frown was stuck on his face. He just wanted to rip off his arm and let her keep it while he escaped. This was the most uncomfortable that he'd ever been probably in his whole young life. He had no idea how to respond. "Good...I'm…uh glad to hear that." He said with a weak smile.

She held his hand, "Come, there's somewhere I want to show you."

Kazumi dragged the Uchiha descendant to the Konoha Park, which was covered in little children. In the middle of the afternoon, kids from all across the village would come there to play. The two academy graduates sat at a small bench. Osamu had no idea why she'd brought him there, but he sure didn't like the vibes she was giving off. He started to sweat, and clenched his knees together.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

"_She comes on so strong…this can't be good." _Osamu thought, swallowing his spit. He decided to end this madness right here and now. "…Kazumi…I had an amazing time today and I-"

He was cut off.

"Oh my gosh! So did I Osamu! I knew we had mutual feelings! I was just waiting for you to stop being such a little baby! That's so adorable! Almost as adorable as you!" She shouted, with hearts in her eyes, hoping up and down.

Osamu was frozen in fear. He didn't know where to go from this point. He couldn't hit her, and he didn't want to be disrespectful and use a substitution jutsu to hightail it out of there. Before he could even come to a conclusion, Kazumi had puckered her full soft lips and was coming right at him. _"This is bad. This is really bad." _She was coming in so fast that Osamu gave up. He couldn't fight fate, so he just stared at her lips, with his teeth clenched. He closed his eyes, and tried to turn away.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed past Osamu's face. A hand smothered Kazumi's face, negating her kiss within seconds. To Osamu and Kazumi's surprise, Hanae had slid in between the two on the park bench. While holding Kazumi's puckered face in the palm of her hands, a warm smile was directed at Osamu, whose face showed subtle surprise. "Hey there Osamu." She said.

Kazumi struggled to get Hanae's hand off of her face. Anger was slowly starting to show through the tight, widespread fingers. Osamu was speechless, and had no idea what to say. "…Please excuse the two of us." Hanae said, blowing a kiss at him. She pulled Kazumi by the lips to the other side of the jungle gym set, opposite from the park bench.

Sakura's daughter threw Hanae's hand away. "Hanae! What the heck are you doing?" Kazumi said, furious at the fact her lips were starting to burn. "Did you follow us or something?"

Hanae's demeanor changed, her face turned extremely red. Five of her friends emerged from behind her and surrounded Kazumi. "…What the hell do you think you're doing here Kazumi?" The yamanaka heir said, teeth clenched.

Kazumi's eyebrows furrowed. "We just went out on a simple date…that's all." She said, with a stern look on her face. "What's the big idea?"

"Osamu Uchiha is not for you, you dumb slut! That's my future husband, and I don't want you anywhere near him!" Hanae snapped.

Kazumi was utterly surprised by the absurd statement. "What the hell are you talking about? It's not like you don't own him!" She growled back, spreading her legs slightly.

"You are ugly! Ugly people don't deserve to have nice things like sexy guys! It's like bad artwork or dead flowers, they're ugly and they always end up in one place, the trash! You're ugly as hell so you're nothing but garbage. Now you'd better stay away from my man!" She said, pointing at Kazumi.

"Or else what, you whore!" She shouted getting in Hanae's face.

In a flash, a hand swiped across the face of the pink-haired girl, making her slide back. Kazumi wiped her lip, wide eyed from the savagery of her fellow kunoichi. "You bitch…" She muttered, checking for blood on her hands.

"You put all this on yourself you pink-haired cock sucker! I'm gonna teach you a lesson about even thinking about putting yourself in the same class as us!" Hanae shouted running right at Kazumi. The girl jumped into the air and twirled around beautifully like the summer time winds. Her legs were paired together and the surrounding wind became an invisible drilling force field.

She dove into the ground with the drill kick, lifting up the mulch and wood chips from off the playground. Kazumi narrowly dodged the two legs, jumping to the side out of danger. The small children at the park all started to run in separate directions, screaming and yelling in horror. Seeing this commotion, Osamu stood up from the park bench to witness what was calling the chaos.

Hanae threw swift punches at Kazumi, who was able to block and defend against each and every one. This made the yamanaka heir angrier and angrier. She crouched down in a second and did a three sixty sweep kick, in which Kazumi dodged by jumping upward into the air. Kazumi flipped over into an axe kick, which was dodged by a backwards summersault by Hanae.

"You're messing with the best Taijutsu artist in the ninja academy. You're not taking my boyfriend from me!" Kazumi said, fuming.

Hanae chuckled, "Hah! Only ugly sluts like you aim to make a guy like Osamu just a boyfriend! You must know you're not wife material."

Kazumi in a flash charged at her and jumped into the air, _"Dainamikku Entorī" _She shouted. At a high speed she flew through the air unleashing a kick that propelled her forward like a bullet. The attack was so fast, Hanae didn't even try to block. She was sent flying into jungle gym. However, she was quickly able to flip herself around rebound.

To her surprise, Kazumi was still coming at her with a fist. The right hook was able to only reach a forearm block by Hanae. Kazumi flipped over and followed with a roundhouse kick to Hanae's ribs, which knocked some wind out of her. The blonde didn't show any sign of pain, as she jumped out of the close combat range. She pulled a kunai knife out from her pocket. "You're gonna regret trying this crap, Kazumi."

"Hmph! I trust in the fire of youth!" Kazumi said, folding her arms with a cocky smile on her face.

Hanae jumped up into the air and threw the kunai swiftly in the direction of Kazumi's head. The velocity of the knife was quite low, making it extremely easy for Kazumi to deflect the attack with the back of her hand. "Too easy pig!" She shouted.

In mid-air, Hanae was making a sly smirk. She formed together a pair of hand seals. _"Rakka Hanabira no jutsu" _She shouted.

Kazumi started to notice blond hair follicles swaying in the wind. She looked down at the kunai knife that was thrown. It had small pieces of blond hair all over it, and now they swayed in the wind. _"She trapped me..! That kunai was meant to be deflected so that it would spread the hair follicles out...I feel right into her jutsu!" _She thought in panic. She became entranced by the floating follicles.

Kazumi soon saw nothing but purple flower petals everywhere. The world around her became a blurred illusion. All she could notice was the purple petals floating all around her. She was immobilized, but felt no fear. The girl was stuck in a beautiful trance.

Hanae's voice came from beyond. _"This is what true elegance is my dear…not that gross taijutsu your father taught you…I've won now." _She said before a soft laugh. The daughter of Rock lee still couldn't do a thing. She was too entranced by the flowers floating around her.

Outside of the jutsu state, Hanae flew at the frozen Kazumi at lightning speed, ready to deliver a devastating kick. "It's over now Kazumi!" She shouted sticking out her foot. In a flash however, Osamu jumped in front of the kick, and blocked it nearly effortlessly.

"Stop." He simply said, tossing Hanae back.

The blonde did a simple back flip and landed gently on her toes. She looked at the boy in surprise, mouth dropped. He made one simple seal after walking over to the hypnotized Kazumi, and snapped her out of the genjutsu. Hanae could barely speak. "B…but Osamu…why would you save her, she's ugly and gross..and…"

"Shut up." The Uchiha boy said, delivering a death glare that would rival even his father's. The blonde stopped dead in the middle of her sentence, as the rest of her friends watched in amazement. Kazumi smirked at the scene, and was about to open her mouth to boast.

"The both of you are annoying…" Osamu said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "…Grow up. All the children are gone now because of the selfishness of both of you."

Kazumi and Hanae both looked at each other and then looked at Osamu, who had turned and started to walk away. "But Osamu we were just-"

"You're annoying!" He said, turning around one last time before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The girls sat, covered in dirt.

Both speechless and ugly as hell.

**~Bitter Rivalries or Growing Friendships? The times are forever changing in Konoha.~**

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ So I decided to follow in the footsteps of my favorite author Shang. One thing I liked that he really did in his fanfics was put Jutsu descriptions at the bottom of his chapters. The only un-corny way to put jutsu in a fanfic is to at least TRY using the best Japanese as possible and not just go with the English stuff lol. So here's the two jutsu used by Kazumi and Hanae in this chapter! _

_**Dainamikku Entorī **__**(Dynamic Entry):**_

_****_The User flies into the opponent at an extremely high velocity to deliver a jump kick._  
_

Class: D  
Type: Taijutsu  
Nature: None

_**Rakka Hanabira no Jutsu **__**(Falling Petal Jutsu): **_

Using a Kunai knife and a small (plentiful) medium such as hair follicles, pebbles, sand etc, the user is able to create the illusion of falling flower petals to entrance their opponent, giving them an easier chance to strike.

Class: C  
Type: Genjutsu  
Nature: None _**  
**_


	9. Dog Day Afternoon Pt 2

**Chapter 8:**** Dog Day Afternoon Pt. 2**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Ryoji, Takane, Sachio, Wataru, Akio, Kiyo, Egao and Mai sit in a living room watching a soccer game. All of the boys, covered in Brazil colors bow their heads in despair at the sight of a 7-1 loss on the TV screen. Egao and Mai hug each other and cheer, each sporting Germany colors.**

* * *

For as long as she could remember, Yukikisu Suzushi had always been interested in the uniqueness of flowers. There was nothing more fascinating to her than a garden full of them. In her mind, each of them had its own individual story. Each seed had made its own journey to the point it was at right now, with all the other different "races" of flowers. She never took a detail for granted and never failed to find a new one in this particular shop.

A blonde woman walked by her, but came back and stopped to take a look at her. She was a tall, slim and curvaceous woman in her 30s. Her face had every sign of youthfulness that a teenager's would, and her golden hair was majestic and elegant. The hair was tied in a ponytail and hung down past her right eye. The woman wore plenty of purple, and had a leaf village headband wrapped around her narrow waist, sitting comfortably on top of some wide hips. This was the shop owner, Ino Yamanaka.

Yukikisu failed to notice her, as she was fixed on examining the details. "Ahhh…those are some of my favorites…" The woman said with a smile. She was holding a hefty bag of fertilizer, which she gently placed on the ground before kneeling down next to the girl. The two were looking at some purple flowers with blue accents all over them. "Absolutely breathtaking aren't they?" Ino asked giving the girl a warm smile.

"Yes indeed." Yukikisu responded, a little surprised.

"They came all the way from the Land of Lightning…it's quite a journeyman."

"…It's come so far...I wonder what it's story is…" The quite girl said, gently touching it's petals.

Ino smiled at her, understanding where she was coming from. "…There's no telling where it's been honestly. But I'm sure glad to know that it's shared it's beauty with so many people." She said, getting up from her crouching position and grabbing the bag of dirt.

Yukikisu watched the woman walk away. She smiled at those words.

She walked home alone. The walk was quite a distance, and she had plenty of time to be one with her own thoughts. Yukikisu didn't care much for conversation; however she was always open to company. She owned a small house by herself near the outskirts of town.

As she walked she sensed a small amount of chakra heading her way at a high speed. Luckily for her however, it wasn't a threatening chakra. Akamato, the little white Ninja dog had ran between her legs and had stopped to sniff her. Yukikisu had seen the dog before, as it had belonged to her new teammate, Kouki Inuzuka.

She giggled at the sight, and soon spotted Kouki tagging along. He was out of breath and let his arms rest on his bent knees as he took deep inhales and exhales. "Oh…now…I see….where…you were running to…Akamato." He said in-between huffs.

He picked up his companion and carried him. "Don't go running off like that! You had me gassed!" He shouted, poking the dog's nose. Kouki turned to Yukikisu, his forehead sweating. He wiped it off with his coat arm, "Hey I'm sorry about that…are you ok?" He asked, making an embarrassed smile.

"Believe me its fine." She said, sending him a reassuring smile, making Kouki realize that she wasn't angry at him. The boy could tell that she had no predisposed judgment at that point. He had to talk to her.

"You're in my squad right? I might be mistaken." He asked.

"Yes I am, although I'm afraid I might've have forgotten your name." Yukikisu asked, now turning her full attention to the boy.

Kouki paused for a moment, with some speechlessness. "Oh uhhhh…Kouki Inuzuka! Nice to meet you." He held out his paw-like hand.

Yukikisu shook it. "Yukikisu Suzushi." She responded.

Kouki petted his dog's head like a mother would her own child. Yukikisu noticed the care and fragility of each stroke; she was already examining his every move without him knowing it.

After some visual observation of each other, Kouki decided to break the silence first. "…I hope I'm not interrupting your evening or something, I guess I'll see-"

"Oh I was just heading home…" She said with a smile, "…Would you like to walk me there?"

Kouki's mouth opened slightly in surprise, "I guess I could spare some time." He responded, secretly jumping back flips of joy in the recesses of his mind.

* * *

"So…the Inuzuka clan loves their dogs huh?" Yukikisu asked in her signature soft angelic voice.

The two had been walking for a considerable amount of time now, but to the two of them it felt like they had just met each other. The large crowds of people didn't seem to faze them; it was like they didn't exist.

"We sure do! They're not only our favorite pets…" He said; massage the soft head of his furry companion. "…they're vital to our clan's survival as well. We need them for battle and to max out our full potentials."

Yukikisu was fascinated, "I've always known that clans used some animals on missions, but I never knew that they were actually essential to the clan's successes. That's amazing." She said, smiling.

Kouki grinned widely, "It is amazing! Me and my buddy here are gonna be some ass-kicking shinobi after this weekend." Akamato lay sleeping in his arms. "We make a pretty fierce team. Just like our dads! I think we could be even better."

"I'm rooting for the both of you. But hey, Kouki?" She said, now focusing on the path instead of her new teammate.

"Yeah?" Kouki asked.

"…You seem like such a great guy…Why do all of the kids in the academy hate you?" She asked, "…They call you a jerk and a bully. I always used to see you either bullying somebody back then or trying to act so hard. Right now, it's like you're a completely different person…"

The Inuzuka clansmen paused for a second. He thought about her questions for a second. There had never been a reason for Kouki to act this way. No one had ever given him a reason to beat them up, and frankly, he never truly enjoyed bullying smaller kids. It was quite a strange concept for him to figure out. "Well..." He said, scratching his stomach.

"I don't know why I do it… I just do."

Yukikisu raised an eyebrow at him, "…You just do? So…does that mean you do it without thinking?" She asked, slightly frowning.

"Possibly…I don't really even like doing it. It's just something that's easy for me…"

Yukikisu listened to him.

"Ever since I was a youngster, I was always bigger than the other kids…Mix that with the red-hot temper I have…and I guess you got yourself a big fat bully."

"So it's all instinct?"

"I don't know. My father had quite a temper himself at my age, but he and my big bro always tell me to be an observer of my emotions…not a reactor." Kouki responded, his head slowly working its way to the ground.

"Well if you know it's not a part of the real you…why are you entertaining it? You seem like an amazing guy, why can't everyone see it. "

The boy with the painted fangs on his face shook his head. "…It's too late for that. People already know who I am and what I do. I get all kinds of things though hah. Lunch money, new sandals, and even ninja tools from heckling one of the upcoming academy students." He said with a laugh.

Yukikisu shook her head slowly in disapproval. "None of that stuff is worth the cost of a person's emotions towards you. "

Kouki took a deep sigh. "Yea…yea…my brother tells me all the time about stuff like that. But I don't wanna hear that stuff. It's a dog eat dog world…only the strong survive, especially as shinobi."

The girl nodded in consideration. "That's true…but kindness goes a long way…what does your brother do?" She asked.

Kouki scoffed and rolled his eyes. "He's a big shot ANBU opp." He said sarcastically. "I barely see the guy. What would he know about my mentality?"

The girl shrugged, and smiled at him. "You know that he's probably seen a lot…maybe you could learn something from him." She said. "I don't think you're as bad as people say you are, Kouki."

Kouki blushed at her, he was speechless.

They had arrived at Yukikisu's home at sunset. The dark orange light was shrouding the village at this point, and pretty much everyone was preparing to end their day. Kouki had to get home, but felt like it was his duty to get Yukikisu home safely. The little house was old and warn down, but still obviously tolerable. It was covered by a gate just as beat up as it was.

Yukikisu opened the gate with a slight force and walked inside. Kouki, still holding Akamato in his arms, stood on the outside, watching her walk along a stone path to her front porch. "Thank you for your company…" She said stopping and turning around.

Kouki, still at a loss for words, just nodded with a smile. Yukikisu smiled back at him, and turned and walked towards him. This freaked him out slightly, but he kept his composure, not trying to show weakness.

She wrapped her arms around him and his dog. Her grip was tight and she rested her head on his chest. Warmth filled Kouki's body. "…It was good talking to you Kouki…"

He uttered out a soft, "You too…"

* * *

**~Hyuga Residence~**

Loud slaps and thuds could be heard from even outside the quiet compounds of the storied Hyuga estate. Deep inside the quarters of the main branch building, two considerable chakra vessels clashed back and forth. One of these people was Kiyo Hyuga, whose hair was tied into a ponytail behind him. He stood in a stance, one that only a user of the legendary gentle fist could stand in. The other was another Hyuga, dressed in all white robes. Her hair was a violet color, and as majestic as could be. She was the head of the Hyuga clan, Hinata Hyuga.

Kiyo's body was glistening with sweat, and his whole shirt was soaking wet. He dropped to one knee, completely drained of energy. Huffing and puffing, Kiyo saw his vision getting blurry and his lips turned white with dryness. His feet trembled, and his knees were weak. His arms felt like ramen noodles, and the migraine he had was only getting worse.

Hinata stood over him with her arms folded. "First shinobi rule…Never let your guard down." She kicked him directly in his jaw.

Kiyo groaned in pain as he slid over the waxed ground of the training room floor. His back skid across it, nearly ripping his shirt from the friction. Nonetheless, he got back to his feet, wiping the small amount of red blood from his bottom lip.

"Are you just going to stand there..?" Hinata said, her face as serious as stone. "…Come." She motioned for him to come at her.

In a flash, the son of Neji dashed at her, swerving left to right in attempts of creating an optical illusion. He launched an open palm at his aunt's face from the left side of her. Quickly, Hinata was able to grab the arm. "I'm afraid you'll have to be a little quicker than that…I didn't even need the Byakugan for that one."

She tugged on his wrist, pulling his whole body directly in front of her line of vision. While Kiyo hung in mid-air, she spun around, making his body slowly begin to coil around hers, and delivered a devastating backwards elbow to the stomach. Kiyo gasped for air before he was flung across the room.

The boy was able to catch himself, and charge right back at the skilled Kunoichi. He threw palm after palm at her, which she narrowly dodged respectively. At one point, she slapped both of Kiyo's palms downward, putting the boy in a position where his body weight was falling forward into Hinata's body.

She quickly crouched down, took a step into an incapacitated Kiyo, and shot both of her open palms into the air, but not without meeting Kiyo's chin on the way up. The upper cut jolted Kiyo's head backwards, resulting in him taking two unbalanced steps back before falling on his back. He laid there on the ground in pain, the familiar place he'd been introduced to since the day he met Genma Shiranui.

"You're almost there…just keep fighting with all you've got Kiyo." Hinata said. "…You'll reach your full potential in no time."

Kiyo picked himself off and cracked his neck. "Yes maam!" He said without hesitation, charging at the woman once more.

**~Every Dog will have its day. The Konoha Gennin wait diligently for their own. ~**


	10. Notice Me

**Chapter 9: ****Notice Me**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Naruto sits at a shack in the middle of nowhere. Around his table are cowboys and other raggedy looking men, who stare in amazement about what he is showing them. Gamatatsu sits across Naruto's table drinking some soup. In Naruto's hand, he holds a Rasengan. He teaches them the basics of Chakra with a smile on his face.**

* * *

Choji Akimichi walked proudly, his face holding the ultimate smug grin. It was in the early morning, so the village streets were mostly unoccupied. This was the best time of the day for Choji, as he didn't have to meet and greet every single one of his fans in the whole village. However, for the shop owners and people who were awake at this time of day, he'd say hello to them with his gallant smile.

This morning, he approached the Yamanaka family shop, seeing Ino sweeping inside. His powerful fist knocked on the door, immediately attracting her attention.

The blonde looked up quickly, and smiled. The store was not yet open, but she unlocked the door for him. The two old friends embraced each other; Choji even picked her up off her feet, "How have you been?" He said, twirling her around. The two engaged in conversation after taking a seat at a table.

A few feet away, a tumble weed sat on the side of the road across from the Yamanaka shop. Chosamu had disguised himself. He watched as the two famous shinobi joked back and forth and also shared a laugh or two. He pouted from under the cover.

"C'mon, I don't want to wait all day for you…" He said to himself, waiting as patiently as possible.

After a few minutes, Choji left the store and began to walk on his regular path again. Chosamu quickly followed him, hiding behind each and every ledge he saw. His branches rustled, and crashed each time he slammed his back on a cover surface. He started to breath heavily, as he completely out of shape. Nonetheless, Choji continued to walk on. His pace was exhausting Chosamu.

"_Note to self: Stealth missions are not your strong suit, Chosamu." _He thought, panting.

Choji sighed, now outpacing Chosamu by a considerable distance. _"Still following me eh?" _He thought, his sweat dropping. The man had long noticed the young boy tailing him. _"Sheesh…Akimichi don't do stealth missions…everyone knows that one." _He smirked for a second, and made a quick turn to the right down a narrow corner. All Chosamu could see was his flashing, orange lion-mane hair swirling around the walls.

"Fuck!" He grunted under his voice. He dashed around the corner after the clan leader.

Upon turning the corner, Chosamu was shocked to find that there was no one to be found in a small alleyway. He started to sweat under the tumble weed cover. "Where'd he go? I could've sworn he-".

A strong grip fell on his shoulder. He could feel the strength of each individual figure relaxing on his body. Chosamu's heart nearly stopped, and he jolted up. He knew he was officially fucked. Chosamu slowly turned his head. Sure enough, a smiling Choji stood over him.

Choji was well over six feet tall, and his body was almost the complete opposite of what it had been at Chosamu's age. The shadow of his body covered the young clansmen completely however at the sheer size of his muscle alone. Chosamu swallowed the saliva building in his mouth.

"You know spying in frowned upon in this village, Akimichi Chosamu." Choji's loud, boisterous voice bellowed.

Chosamu looked back and him, but quickly smacked his beefy hand away. The chubby boy jumped away from the man, creating a considerable space between the two. "I don't care sir!" He shouted, pounding his fist together. "I won't be ignored by you any longer!"

Choji seemed to be amused by the young boy. He scratched his long-flowing hair and raised an eyebrow. "…What's that supposed to mean, young Chosamu?" He said.

"I want you to acknowledge me! I'm going to be the next great Akimichi clan leader, but first I gotta show you what I got!" Chosamu said, getting into a stance.

The large man rolled his eyes. "Young Chosamu…" He said. "I'm afraid you had already succeeded at the acknowledgement part at least 20 minutes ago. Seriously speaking, a tumble weed, in the middle of the leaf village?"

Chosamu bowed his head in disappointment, "So…you knew the whole time?"

Choji laughed heartily, gripping his belly. He took one loud smack on his thigh, "Yes that's right! You're definitely Chohohei's son! I remember when I first met him; he was just as clumsy as you are!"

The young Akimichi pouted, but soon quickly place his guard back up as he observed the giant man walking towards him. Choji's big paw settled on top of his head with a very subtle force. The man rustled through his orange hair. "…I can see the fire in your eyes young Chosamu…" He bellowed, with a big smile on his face.

Chosamu looked up at him in amazement.

"…You have caught my attention now…I will continue to watch your development. I am sure you'll be a splendid Shinobi…"

"Y…you'll be watching me?" Chosamu repeated, trying to take in as much of the surreal moment as possible.

"…It took me a long way to get to where I'm at today young Chosamu..." Choji said, now looking beyond the boy, to the sunlight at the end of the alleyway. "I've taken my share of failures, beatings, and humiliation. I witnessed the death of one of my best friends, and many others during my career. But one thing I realized as I grew was that…" The man kneeled down, getting to even level with Chosamu.

"...You must love yourself…and you must love your village. Nothing else matters…"

Chosamu's mouth hung open as his legs started to grow numb, he was a statue.

"I'll gladly die for you young Chosamu…I expect to one day hear the same from you."

The large man walked off, same smug grin on his face, beginning to hum a tune. Chosamu continued to keep hearing the man's words in his conscious over and over. He stood alone.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~ **

Tears rolled down Kazumi's face. Her face was puffy and red and her eyes glistened like jewels. Soft sniffs and whimpers could be heard as small tear drops fell and disintegrated on the floor of the sidewalk. The girl used her forearm to wipe her wet cheeks, and the snot from her nose.

"I don't think this is a good idea at all Sachio…"

Akio and Sachio stood a few feet away from the bench where the daughter of Rock Lee sat in tears. The two boys peeked at her from around a ledge.

"Yea…it's pretty fucking devastating-looking." Sachio responded, scratching his hair. "But dude..! This is like the perfectist scenario ever!"

"_Perfectist..?" _Akio thought, with a straight face. He looked at him, quite puzzled. "…Explain Sachio…"

Sachio rolled his eyes. "Well psh!" He started, waving his arms. "Bro! All you gotta do is go over there, Ask her why she's crying, tell her she's beautiful, and she's gonna be all over you in no time!" The boy showed his friend a thumbs up with a wink.

Akio sighed, still not understanding his logic. "Ugh…I guess you're right…."

"Heck yeah I'm right! My old man reads Jiraiya Novels all day long bro. Now say 'I'm a big dog'." Sachio said grabbing Akio by the shoulders.

"I'm a big dog?" The blue-haired boy repeated in complete confusion

"Yeah man motivation time…" He said, pumping his fist. "Now say it! 'I'm a big dog'."

Akio was hesitant but quickly was able to swallow his pride. "Ok…I'm a big dog!"

"Say 'I'm a sexy beast!'"

"I'm a sexy beast!"

"My sexiness moves mountains!"

"My-my Sexiness moves mountains!"

"Not even the fourth could seal this sexy fox!"

"Not even the fourth could seal this sexy fox!" Akio shouted, getting more and more into it.

"Now you're gonna march your sexy ass over there and show Kazumi who's boss!" Sachio shouted, sticking his hand up for a high five.

Akio slapped his friend's hand, filled with a new enthusiasm. "Hell yeah! I'm ready!" He said, pumping his fist again. Sachio nodded in approval.

Akio swiftly turned the corner of the wall, and headed down towards the bench. He tried his best to look as smooth as possible. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked with a cheesy strut in his step. He also whistled a tune, trying not to make any eye contact with Kazumi. She didn't even notice him approaching.

Akio observed this quickly, and decided that the best way to clean this situation up is by also acting like he didn't notice the crying girl. He slowly walked past her, opening only one of his eyes slightly to see if she was looking up at him. Kazumi held her head in her hands, still sobbing miserably.

"_Crap…no turning back now!"_ Akio thought, turning back in her direction.

Sachio watched, just as nervous as Akio was. The blue-haired boy took a deep sigh and wiggled his head to both sides, cracking his neck. "Hey Kazumi!" He blurted out with a nervous smile on his face. He stuck his hand up and waved at her. "How ya doin?!"

Kazumi slowly raised her head at him. All Akio could see was snot and wetness all over the poor girl's face. The boy cringed at the grotesque sight. _"Oh god almighty." _He thought.

The girl whipped out a cloth from her bag, and blew her nose. "Oh…my…gosh…" She said in between sniffles. "I'm so sorry you have to see me like this Kiyo…"

Akio sighed, slightly disappointed. "…It's Akio…and what's the matter Kazumi?" He asked, sitting down next to her. It took her a while to blow her nose, she kept sniffling and blowing continuously, which was seriously grossing Akio out big time. However, the boy knew that he'd do anything for love.

"It's…nothing…just some…relationship issues…" She whimpered between blows.

The weight of the world immediately fell on Akio's head. His heart came to a jolting stop, and seemed to just sit in his chest. His head slowly dropped, with a slow bounce at the end of his neck. He blew out his mouth in frustration. He wanted to scream. His true love was already in a relationship. Suddenly however, he realized that he should first realize why she was crying in the first place.

"Relationship issues..? What'd your boyfriend do?" He asked.

Kazumi wiped her eyes, "Well…it's not really my boyfriend…but this guy I have a major crush on..."

Akio dealt with some more pain, but he brushed it off. "What did he do to you..?" He asked.

Kazumi immediately burst into tears again, letting out a loud cry at the top of her lungs. Akio, and the undercover Sachio alike, both covered their ears to block out the sound. "I'm such a fucking idiot! I made a complete loser out of myself in front of Osamu Uchiha!" She shouted, throwing her head back into her hands once more.

"Osamu…Uchiha?" Akio repeated trying to understand what was going on. "..Well what happe-"

"We were having the most wonderful date ever! He took me all across Konoha and swept me off my feet! But then, that bitch Hanae had to come a screw it all up! This was future marriage, Osamu was mine!" She ranted. Akio raised an eyebrow.

"_Gosh…what a crazy witch." _ Sachio thought, peeking from behind the wall.

"Err…well…it's not like he's your pet or anything…it's not like you can force him to like you…" Akio said, sweating.

Kazumi turned to him fiercely, "But he _did_ like me! He was giving me the eye and everything!" She shouted. "But I wouldn't expect you to know anything about love!"

"Hey…What's that supposed to mean?" Akio said, clenching his teeth.

"Well, excuse me, but I don't think I've ever seen you talk to a girl before, Kiyo."

Akio smacked his forehead in slight agitation. "It's…never mind. But I'll have you know my dear that I most definitely know plenty about love!"

Kazumi rolled her eyes, "…Like what..? Hentai is only 2 ryo at the store…" She muttered under her breath.

"I'm not some creep!" Akio blurted back at her, "…I may not know about being with a girl, but I sure can tell when I'm looking right at who I love…"

Kazumi looked at him. Akio was staring her right in the eyes. "…Don't worry about that jerk anymore…It would be impossible for someone not to be in love with you. You're the shiniest kunai in the toolbox in my eyes."

Kazumi's face turned straight, and her crying ceased.

"…I've been so afraid to tell you this but…Kazumi Haruno…I think I'm in love with you." He said, using all of his effort.

The time paused as they looked into each other's eyes. Kazumi scrunched her face and bit her lip slightly, "Uhh…seriously..?" She asked kind of backing away from him.

"Yes…I've never been so sure of anything before in my life." Akio said, blushing. He gripped her thigh, and leaned in for a kiss.

Suddenly, Kazumi started to burst into tears again. She propped her head into her hands once more and sobbed again. "This is so embarrassing!" She wept, shaking her head.

"What..? What's embarrassing?"

The girl stood up, tears still rolling down her face. "Am I that gross? The burning flames of my youth were alive with Osamu Uchiha…but is this what I've be degraded to?!" She shouted at Akio.

Sachio stood behind the wall and watched in disbelief as to what he was seeing.

"…Degraded…Kazum-"

"No! Can't you see I'm going to a hard time right now!? Why would you come over here to insult me!?" She shouted.

Akio furrowed his eyebrows, "Insult you?! Heavens, how?!" He shouted back standing up to her level, hands opened up, submissively trying to plead with the girl.

"…Listen Kiyo…Ako…Akoey…whatever the heck your name is! Just because we're teammates doesn't mean you're obligated to get all friendly like this ok?!"

"But I'm sincere! I promise that there's-"

"You're a nerd!"

Akio paused, and dropped his hands to his sides. He was starting into the face of an angry girl, who looked deep into his soul with nothing more than malice and bitterness. Akio couldn't speak, his mouth felt dry. His legs went numb, and his armpits started to sweat. He was completely devastated.

Sachio hung his head, knowing that his friend was crushed.

"…Nerd…?" Akio said, hanging his head down, nearly on the verge of tears.

"…I'm sorry but…why would a girl like me get with a guy like…um…you..?" Kazumi said, starting to turn away from him. "…I guess I'll see you around or something…"

The girl left him there.

Tears rolled down his face, and he started to quiver. Sachio slowly emerged from the corner and walked to his friend. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man. She's a jerk anyway you don't –"

His hand was smacked away. Akio walked away in silence, leaving Sachio at the lone bench.

* * *

Nightfall had long fallen over Konohagakure.

The whole village slept. All one could hear was the monotonous hoots of the night owl. Insects flew through the dark cloak of darkness, chirping along the way, fusing their individual sounds to make one unified song. Night seemed much more peaceful than the day time.

One lone person, Wataru, wandered aimlessly on the village streets. He held his stomach desperately, his face showed signs of severe pain.

"Fuck…" He said to himself. "…I was hoping that I could at least fall asleep before I got hungry."

His stomach growled and moaned, with each one, Wataru clutched it harder. He had gone almost a full two days without eating not even a sliver of food. He came to a stop at a house, noticing the gate to the backyard was left open.

"_Jackpot! Wataru it must be your lucky day buddy boy!" _He thought to himself, a big smile showing across his face. He quickly dashed around the opened gate, which lead to a pile of trash cans. Wataru slowed to a stop at the sight of them, and rubbed his chin.

"_Hmmm…dumpster diving night eh? A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do…" _ He thought, scratching his hair. With barely any hesitation, Wataru jumped into the large trash bin, throwing out chunks of garbage, from banana peels to newspapers.

Within an hour, he had gone through all of the trash bins that were sitting in the backyard of the house. The only thing he could find was a fishbone, which he threw down the street in frustration. He cocked his leg and kicked the trash over, resulting in a loud clanging sound. All of the containers fell over, letting all of the trash fall over. "…I fucking hate this…" He said under his breath, slightly calming down.

Wataru was shocked to see a light from the inside of the house flash on. A voice groaned from the home. "Who's there?!" It shouted. The boy could hear the shuffling of feet and the banging of knocked over furniture. The person was coming after him right away.

"Oh no…" Wataru said to himself, immediately starting to high tail it out of the backyard. He tumbled over top of the knocked over cans, but was quickly able to recover and run. However, he had known the fall had slowed him down.

He turned the edge and ran past the open gate; he had never been so scared of anything in his life. After many years of dumpster diving and stealing, not once had he been caught. He was afraid of the consequences. Wataru turned his head behind him to see a figure not too far behind. The darkness shaded the man's identity, but Wataru still knew that this wasn't any nice guy.

Suddenly, his leg stepped on a circular moving lump. The made the small object roll, resulting in Wataru tripping on it. He managed to avoid falling to the ground, and was able to catch his balance. Before the boy could even know what the object was, it exploded. A bright flash of light temporarily blinded Wataru. He covered his eyes in desperation.

"_Wha…what the hell is this?" _He thought, rubbing his eyes.

It wasn't long before the blinded gennin realized that he was stuck, his body was immobilized. The only thing he could do was keep his eyelids closed from the flashing light.

"There's nothing I hate more than troublesome people…" The home owner said, holding a hand seal up. Wataru still couldn't see who it was. "People like that get caught in my _Kagemane No Jutsu_."

The young shinobi continued to try and wiggle his way out of the jutsu, not knowing that his whole body had belonged to the mystery man. Wataru started to panic.

"Look kid…there's nothing you can do to escape it…its futile."

"Hey I'm sorry man! Let me go!" Wataru shouted, eyes still shut.

"…What's your name kid?"

"Wataru!"

"Do you know who I am?"

"I can't fucking see, so I have no idea!"

The light from the trap had finally subsided and let the shadows of darkness once again creep through. The shadows wore off, releasing the boy. However he still kept his eyes shut.

"You can't open your eyes now." The man said, hands on his hips.

With a gentle rub of each eyelid, Wataru looked up and saw a man with brown hair. He immediately knew who he was. "…Captain Nara Shikamaru..?" He mumbled under his breath, in sheer awe of the man who stood before him. Shikamaru greeted him with a smirk.

"That's me…and you're Wataru…" He said, hands in his pockets.

"How do you know about me?" Wataru asked, flattered.

"You told me your name… and you tried to rob me as well." Shikamaru said, folding his arms now giving off a stern look.

Wataru bowed his head, "…I'm sorry sir…it's just that I haven't eaten for a few days…I was-"

"What's your last name kid?"

He looked at the floor, shrugging in shame. "…I have no idea…my parents are nowhere to be found…so I just go by my first name…."

Shikamaru observed him, and scratched his head. "Ahh…and Orphan I see. There's a boy's home here in-"

"No way!" Wataru shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "…Those kids don't want to be shinobi like I do! I can survive on my own anyway…"

Shikamaru chuckled, "…Well I'll tell you what kid, diving through someone's trash and trespassing on their own personal property will only get you in one of three places: The hospital, jail, or the afterlife."

Wataru nodded at him.

"In all honesty…I'm actually kind of glad you decided to pull that crap tonight kid…" The nara clansmen continued, with a smile.

Wataru raised his eyebrows, "…Uh…you are?"

"Yep…I needed some competition…you play Shogi?" Shikamaru asked turning and walking back in the direction of his home.

Wataru smiled, knowing that he at least had somewhere to sleep. "Yea…but I'm not very good at it…you got any food?" He tagged along next to Shikamaru.

"Plenty."

**~The Gennin Exam creeps closer and closer. Their experiences prepare the Shinobi for any challenge! ~**


	11. The Gennin Exam

**Chapter 10: ****The Gennin Exam**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Shikamaru rubs his chin, carefully planning his next move in a match of Shogi. Wataru smiles back at him, knowing that he's got the Jounin beat.**

* * *

"Yugao-Sensei…Why'd you call me out here so early..?"

A drowsy Hideharu Gekko rubbed his eye. A little bit of drool hung from his mouth, and flakes of crust were stuck to the sides his eyes. He took a long yawn, and patted on his mouth.

It was early Sunday morning. So early as a matter of a fact, that the sun hadn't even arisen. The air was muggy and damp, and the grass was covered in wet dew. Morning bugs floated in the air, whizzing by Hideharu who was on the verge of falling asleep standing up. Across from him was Yugao Uzuki, folding her arms.

"Hideharu Gekko…you're Gennin Exam begins now!" She shouted.

Hideharu jolted into alertness, his heart started to pound fast. "What!?" He shouted in horror.

"You heard me, didn't you? Prepare yourself!" Yugao said, slowly unleashing a slim katana from its sheath on her back. The sight of the blade made Hideharu's eyes grow extremely wide as the fear started to kick in.

"B-but…Sensei I wasn't rea-"

"A shinobi must always be prepared for battle…even in the most unexpected scenarios!" His teacher responded, jumping high into the air.

Hideharu looked up into the sky; his teacher had seemed to disappear into the clouds. He started to focus on the dim morning air. He had brought his full body armor but had decided not to put it on until he knew what Yugao had brought him for. The steel sat at his side, but instead of reaching for it, he grabbed his sheath instead.

He held his weapon out in front of his face, and focused. Closing his eyes, the young samurai could hear each and every little sensation that touched his eardrum. Hideharu differentiated each individual cricket, bird, or fly in the air. The blowing wind could also be heard. The vibrations from each sound started to become visions through his closed eyes. A figure appeared from behind, the winds were picking up at a rapid rate. _"I see you..!" _

Two Swords clashed, piercing the tranquility of the morning. Yugao used three backflips to clear the distance between her and her new student. At her surprise, Hideharu's blade had been drawn. A few feet away her blade stood, lodged in the grassy ground. He had stopped her attack.

"…_I can't be…" _The purple-haired Jounin thought, flabbergasted. _"…what talent…"_

She took a good look at Hideharu's blade. The blade was regular size in length, and thin. However, one distinct feature made the blade special. The cutting side was scored from top to bottom in small triangular mini-blades. That's how he was able to knock Yugao's katana out from her hands. Hideharu's blade seemed to be crafted with the intention of not only being one of the sharpest blades around, but also incorporated blunt force into it as well.

"…_I'm impressed…"_

The young samurai settled into his stance, shifting the blade in a wavy motion. His face wasn't even wavering anymore, he knew he could go toe to toe with Yugao. She smirked, and charged again into him, gripping her katana with force. The blade was swung upward, in which Hideharu was able to block easily.

However, Hideharu's eyes widened when he realized the two blades only clashed for less than two second. Out the corner of his eye, he could see a thin gray image coming into view, straight at his face. He dodged the blade by spinning on his foot. The sharp edge managed to whiff only millimeters past his cheek. He countered with a kick, that pushed the former ANBU back sightly but delivered no real damage.

_"After-imaging huh?"_ He thought, slightly tired. _"I gotta watch out for it."_

Yugao was enjoying the match, she was highly satisfied with this young specimen of hers. _"...He's holding back...maybe I should crank this up a notch or two." _

Sensing his teacher's new intentions, Hideharu charged at the woman in a flash. He jumped into the air and twisted, sweeping his multi-bladed katana after him. Right in front of Yugao's feet, the samurai boy cut the grass on the ground. The wind from his twirl and the fresh cut blades of grass mixed to cover the air in green. Hideharu quickly shut his eyes, and began to focus on the wind that had picked up during his attack.

Yugao raised an eyebrow, he had gone through the motions so quickly, almost at a light speed.

Hideharu could see the blades of green floating in the air, all around Yugao. He started to slash each grass blade in half at a light speed, through the frozen Yugao. The sword sliced through her flesh like a knife and tender meat. His accuracy was impeccable, not even missing one tiny piece of grass in the wind. The body of the kunoichi flew into the air, cut into shreds. As soon as she hit the ground, a puff of smoke puffed into the air. As the smoke cleared, Hideharu spotted a tree stump laying in the spot.

_"I knew she wouldn't go down that easy." _He thought, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

A clapping came from behind him. Yugao approached him, clapping her hands in delight. "I must say I'm highly impressed..." She said, with a smile under her nose.

Hideharu said nothing.

"I'm just waiting for your best...I've seen enough battle to know when someone's holding back." Yugao continued. "I care very little for what you learned under the Samurai discipline...fight me like you intend to kill me Hideharu Gekko." She made a hand seal.

The student gulped, readying his stance once again, nervously.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

Mai, Takane, Ryoji, and Kiyo sat at a brick stone next to a wooden sign. The location sat at the outskirts of the village, at a point where the leaf village ended. Outside of it were long dirt trails, which lead to the rest of the ninja world. The Kunoichi held a small sheet of paper showing the group where to meet at five o'clock am that morning. It was signed by Genma Shiranui.

"Hey guys…" Kiyo said, looking into the great beyond of the trails. "…My aunt said this is the place the great sage departed on his journey."

The rest of the group members didn't even look up to acknowledge the statement. Mai's sleepy eyes were fixed on the small details of the sheet. Takane struggled to keep himself awake, his head dropping and popping up again continuously. Ryoji however, was flat out asleep.

Takane rubbed his eyes, "I wonder what he's gonna make us do…" He said, drowsily.

Kiyo shrugged, "Meh…my mother said she had to do something with bells, same as my aunt. She said it's always going to be something involving teamwork."

"So if we work together, we'll all be ok?" Takane asked, scratching his hair through his hat.

Mai stood up, and took a long stretch. "…Genma-sensei should be here at any second…we gotta be ready for anything that could possibly happen." She went over to Ryoji, who was now drooling. With one swift smack on the face, he bolted to consciousness.

"Wake up idiot…it's almost 5:00." She said.

Ryoji looked around. "He's still not here?" He asked, eyes low. "…I hate waiting for this asshole."

A poof of smoke appeared from behind him. A hand emerged and rustled Ryoji's hair. The boy's face went completely straight, "Not again…" He said.

Genma smiled at him, "…It seems like I need to buy you some toilet paper for your mouth's diarrhea, kid." The kids turned their attention to him as he stood in the center of the four.

"Good to see that all of you made it here on time. Now we can head out." The jounin said with his signature smile. He turned towards the path and started to walk along, motioning for his pupils to follow him.

"Where are we even going!?" Ryoji shouted, not budging one bit. His teammates didn't move either.

Genma turned back to face them, "I'm taking you to where your exam will begin…follow me."

The five Konoha shinobi walked down the path for about an hour. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, and the birds were chirping in the background. The dirt trail seemed endless, especially for Ryoji, and the four gennin were starting to become weak in the legs and exhausted from simple walking. Genma was unfazed and even whistled a tune.

"_Ugh…how long could we possibly walk…" _Takane thought, adjusting his Arabian hat.

Sooner or later, the group arrived at a large bridge, which stood over a pond. In the distance however, a giant mountain could be seen raising high into the air. Underneath it was a small jungle, filled with trees. Genma stopped at the foot of the bridge. "Our destination…is there." He said, pointing to the huge mountain.

The students stared at it in disbelief, mouths wide open. "…Whoa…what're we gonna do Sensei? Climb it?" Kiyo asked with his sweat dropping.

"Technically…But not really…" Genma said with a chuckle. "That jungle will be your first stop. It may seem small from this distance, but you'll soon found out that not everything is what it seems."

Mai grew tired of waiting, "So what's our job sensei?"

"The four of you must make it to the top of that mountain before nightfall. Right now it is six in the morning, so you've basically got the whole day to reach the checkpoint."

"Checkpoint?" Takane repeated, confused.

"Yes…I will be waiting for you at a small hut on the top. I found the place myself." Genma answered. "…Anyway, in order to make it to the actual mountain range, you must get through the jungle first." The man twirled his toothpick in his hand, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a brown scroll. "…This is a map…that should be enough of a guide for you to make it out of there."

Mai took the scroll from her sensei and put it into her pocket.

"Food shouldn't be too much of an issue since it's less than a twenty-four hour exam. You maybe need to use your ninja tools as well. Remember also…that the most important asset every shinobi must have on the job is chemistry amongst his teammates." Genma finished, sticking one finger in the air. The gennin nodded, and followed the Jounin down the path towards the mountain.

"Welp this is it." Genma said, standing right in front of the darkness under the giant trees.

The jungle trees rose extremely high into the sky, blocking any daylight. The gennin had to be ready for a long day of nighttime-like darkness. Each of them couldn't stop looking at the overwhelming sight.

"As I said before you guys have until nightfall…"

Mai stopped him, "But wait Genma-Sensei! The trees are blocking out the sunlight! How could we possibly know if its day or night?"

Genma let out a laugh, "I have no idea kid!" He shrugged, "That's up to you guys..!"

Ryoji clenched his fist, and jumped into the conversation, "What?! So how the heck are we gonna read the map? You set us up!" He shouted.

"Remember what I said…Teamwork is key…" The jounin said, sticking his toothpick into his mouth. The man soon disappeared into thin smoke leaving the four kids in utter confusion.

"Guys…" Kiyo said, quivering. "I have a terrible feeling about this…"

Takane bowed his head, and nodded it in agreement. "…So do I, Kiyo. He barely gave us any assistance…"

Ryoji regained his composure and turned to the two boys. "…Teamwork is key…so in that case if we work together we can get through this in no time. How hard could it be anyway, some stupid grass and trees?"

"You might want to rethink that one Ryoji…" Mai said, a few feet apart from her teammates. She had already unrolled the brown scroll, a huge map plot flapping downward from the stem. "Look at this…"

The boys huddled around the Kunoichi and the giant map. They nearly dropped their jaws to the floor. The trail was completely jumbled by illustrations of everything from trees to animals to swamps and rivers. It was a mess, no normal person would be able to decipher it. Not only that, but it was also worn and had holes in it.

A feeling of depression fell over the group. "…We'll never make it in time…" Takane said, bowing his head.

**~Early Setbacks mean trouble for the aspiring Gennin. ~**

_**Author's Note: **__So this was a short chapter, but I did what I wanted to get done in it. I pray that you guys aren't confused with any of the characters, so I'll do a quick run through right now! If you want more in-depth character reviews about your favorite shinobi, please slide me a Review or PM and ill put it in the next child! Read and Review yall._

_**Squad One (Genma Shiranui):**_

**Ryoji Kosumosu **(Main Character, Hot-headed, maroon colored hair)

**Kiyo Hyuga **(NejixTenten, Ryoji's best friend)

**Takane Mamoru **(Arabian hat-wearer, Ryoji and Kiyo's best friend)

**Mai Uzura **(Kunoichi of the group, Arrow wielder)

**_Squad Three (Kotetsu Hagane):_**

**Rock Kazumi Haruno- **_Kazumi is the daughter of Rock Lee and Sakura Haruno. She is obviously skilled in Taijutsu but also has great chakra control even though she barely uses other types of jutsu. Her name means "Beautiful harmony."She is crushing on Osamu Uchiha, and has a rivalry with Hanae Yamanaka._

**Sachio Hatake- **_The son of Kakashi Hatake and Ayame Ichiraku. He is a lazy, unmotivated shinobi. His best friend is his new teammate Akio Keisan. Sachio's name means "Auspicious boy" as he is destined for greatness like his father and grandfather were._

**Akio Keisan- **_Akio is an extremely intelligent kid. He has blue hair and wears glasses that keep falling off. He has a huge crush on Kazumi Haruno, and is best friends with Sachio Hatake. Other shinobi see him as a nerd. His name means, "Bright man" and Keisan means "Calculate." He was given these names for his obvious intellectual capabilities. _

**Shizu Aburame- **_Daughter of Shino Aburame. She is very secluded and doesn't speak much. Shizu carries around a jar containing her pet spider inside. Shizu means, "quiet" _

**_Squad Four (Izumo Kamizuki):_  
**

**Hanae Yamanaka- **_Hanae is the daughter of Ino Yamanaka. She is a very bossy and superficial person. She is also extremely vain and has strong beliefs in beauty and ugliness. Her name means, "Flower Blessing" due to Ino's obsession with flowers. She loves Osamu Uchiha and has an ongoing rivalry with Kazumi Haruno._

**Wataru- **_Wataru is a poor, homeless orphan who walks the streets of Konoha. He is the best friend of Kiyo, Ryoji, and Takane. He is a very bright student, managing to crack the top ten percent of the ninja academy regardless of his life conditions. His name means "Navigation" I choose that particular name to symbolize Wataru's natural survival skills and how he can "navigate" through this harsh world._

**Chosamu Akimichi- **_An Akimichi clan member who idolizes Choji Akimichi. He is fat and out of shape. Chosamu is technically friends with Kouki Inuzuka, even though he only acts like one of his lackeys. The name Cho means "Butterfly" adding Samu which is "Courage."_

**Chiyoko Kaigoshi- **_Chiyoko is an aspiring medical nin with big dreams. She carries around the official medical nin training book with her everywhere she goes. Wataru understands her work ethic. Chiyoko means "Child of Forever" as she wants to help bring new life to people. Kaigoshi means "Caregiver" for obvious reasons._

_**Squad Six (Yugao Uzuki):**_

**Osamu Uchiha-** _SasukexKarin. Osamu is an extremely gifted ninja, his abilities contain both elements of the Uchiha clan and the Uzumaki clan in one vessel, making him the most talented ninja to come out of the academy in years. He is a walking heartthrob, and loves his silence. Osamu means "Ruler" because he wants to surpass his father who is the "ruler" of karma._

**Kouki Inuzuka- **_The son of Kiba Inuzuka. Kouki is the neighborhood bully who beats up everyone. He has a soft side however which showed when he hung out with Yukikisu. Kouki means, "Vast and strong" due to his physical strength._

**Hideharu Gekko- **_Hideharu is probably my second favorite character lmao. He comes from a docile samurai background. As stated by Konohamaru, he has a very steep learning curve before he can be called a shinobi. Yugao is fascinated by him because he reminds her of her ex-lover Hayate Gekko. He wields a blade. Hideharu means "Flourishing Autumn." Gekko means "Moonbeam."_

**Yukikisu Suzushi- **_Yukikisu is a shy girl who doesn't seem to be from the Leaf village. Kouki and she might have some feelings between each other lol. Yuki means "Snow" while kisu means "Kiss." Suzushi simply means "Cool." _


	12. The Endless Green

**Chapter 11:**** The Endless Green**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Hideharu struggles to put his Konoha head band on his head without it falling off. Yugao face palms in the background.**

* * *

The jungle was unforgiving.

Lush green was everywhere in sight. The four shinobi wannabes took large steps, trying to maneuver themselves over the knee-steep grass. Bugs whizzed past their ears, and although the trees covered the bright sunlight from above, the sweltering heat of the jungle seemed almost compressed within it. Ryoji, Mai, Kiyo, and Takane were exhausted, each of their foreheads covered in sweat.

Takane led the pack, using a kunai to hack through the unkempt grass. Each slash draining him of energy as he sweat underneath his hat. Kiyo looked ahead diligently, trying his best to ignore all of Mother Nature's distractions. Ryoji slugged behind Kiyo and Takane, head hanging down in despair. Mai diligently kept her eyes peeled to the broken map, and hung behind the pack. "Hey Mai…" Takane said, breaking a long silence. "Do you have any idea where we're headed?'

Mai took a deep sigh and flipped her hair, "…This map isn't helping at all…there's no way we can continue to use this."

Ryoji growled and snatched the paper out of the Kunoichi's hands furiously. "We've been walking for hours now! We should've just got rid of this damn thing from the start!" He tore the map up into thousands of paper shards, sprinkling all over the ground. Kiyo and Takane were stunned and jumped away from the sight in disbelief. Both of them quivered at the sight of the ripped map. They would fail for sure now.

Mai punched Ryoji's head, leaving a big bump in the place of her fist. "You idiot!" She bellowed, with a pair of fiery eyes. "You didn't have to rip the damn thing!"

"You said it was useless anyway!" Ryoji shouted back, covering his wound.

"So what makes you think that ripping it would help!? Just because we can't follow the directions doesn't mean it wouldn't have came in handy later!"

"Ah fuck that! I'd rather use my natural instincts!"

"What are you?! Kouki?! A fucking Inuzuka or something? You wouldn't know how to fend for yourself in the wild If you were an actual animal!"

"We'll hey! At least I'm not the one who actually looks like a wild animal!"

The two continued to argue back and forth with one and other. Takane and Kiyo watched from a distance. "…They're like a married couple…" Kiyo said with a sigh. He turned back to his teammate. "Takane…we gotta set up something here…"

Takane looked back at the Hyuga boy, with raised eyebrows. "…You mean like camp?" He asked. "Why would we do that? It's not like we plan on staying overnight in this place."

Kiyo nodded in understanding, "I know that. But it seems like we've dug ourselves deeper and deeper into these woods. I don't know about you, but I don't think we could turn back even if we wanted to. We're completely lost."

The Mamoru clansmen took a seat on a fallen three. He bowed his head and gave his mind a rest. Kiyo sat next to him, watching Ryoji and Mai continue to argue back and forth. The two boys took a sigh at the sight one last time. "Hey guys!" Kiyo shouted at the two arguing teammates.

They stopped bickering and looked back at him. "What?" Ryoji and Mai asked at the same time.

"Its just that…I think we should set up camp…" Kiyo proposed nervously, scratching his head.

"Why would we do that? It's not like we-"

"Yea yea I know! Not spending the night! But still, we need to prepare our strategy for getting out of these woods in time. The more we walk, the deeper and deeper we sink into this place. If we don't have a plan, failing this test will be the least of our worries."

Mai and Ryoji looked at each other. "Well we can't spend much time building it can we, Kiyo?" Ryoji asked.

Kiyo shook his head and nodded at Takane. "...Not at all." He said with a smile.

* * *

"Alright Takane! Everything's all set!" Ryoji shouted, planting one kunai into a large tree.

The group had planted four kunai in four tree stumps. Each tree was across from each other, and a big gap was in between them. Mai, Kiyo, and Ryoji each stood at a tree, leaving one of them unattended. Takane Mamoru stood in the center of the open space. He formed hand seals.

"_Yottsu no tosokoshiru no Jutsu!" _He called out, spreading his legs.

Chakra started to emit from each of the four kunai and shot itself into the air, ending at the top of the four tree trunks. They beams also shot horizontally, directly at the other trees to the right, left, and in front of them. This created a box around the four shinobi out of pure blue chakra. A grey, solid casing started to take the blue auras place within seconds. The shinobi were now shaded by the grey shelling.

"Impressive…" Mai said, pressing onto the walls of the armored box. "…I never knew you could pull something this massive off Takane…"

Takane fixed his hat with pride, a big smile across his face. "Um…yeah! My clan spe-"

"Oh that's right…Your clan can manipulate chakra into solid steel…right?" She asked, cutting the boy off.

He nodded, "That's right!"

"Might come in handy later…but for now, we need to think quickly." Kiyo said, continuing to sit on top of the fallen tree branch.

"I'm way ahead of ya…" Mai said with a smirk. "…My clan has a specific talent as well."

The three boy's eyes widened. They watched as Mai unraveled a scroll from her backpack. After placing it on the ground, she started to form her own set of hand seals. She pounded her hands on the ground on the center of the scroll. A cloud of smoke started to generate underneath her hands.

"Summoning Jutsu!" She shouted.

"_Summoning Jutsu..! How the hell..?!"_ Ryoji thought, covering his face from the smoke.

The boys rubbed their eyes, only to see Mai standing face to face with a brown quail, the size of a small human. It stood on two feet, back straight like a soldier. One of its wings hung straight down to its side, while the other was positioned on hit's forehead like a salute in the military. It wore its own leaf village headband, and its brown tail had multi-colored feathers. Its beak was sealed shut, and it had fiery determination in its eyes. "The flying devil, Okinniri Uzura at your service Boss-Lady!" He introduced, with a wise-cracking New Jersey accent.

Kiyo was shocked at the sight, "_A summoning jutsu..? She pulled it off almost effortlessly…" _

"Okinniri I need you to do me a huge favor!" Mai responded, clasping her hands together.

"Yea yea, no problem Boss-Lady…but first of all, who are these chumps?" The bird asked with a bland face, pointing it's wing at the three boys.

Ryoji, Takane, and Kiyo's faces sunk. "Watch your mouth bird brain!" Ryoji responded, folding his arms and turning away.

"Ooops I'm so sorry to offend you maam. Would you like me to get you some new panties!?" Okinniri said, with a smirk.

Ryoji turned around furiously. "What the heck did you say!? You're gonna end up in my fucking ramen if I get my hands on you!"

Okinniri shot a glare back at him, "Don't joke around like that kid…my uncle paulie got caught up in a mess like that…you might end up in a coffin."

Ryoji growled and was about to walk over to the bird, before Takane and Kiyo pounced on him. "Calm down Ryo…" Takane said.

Mai shook her head and sighed, focusing her attention back to her summoning. "Okinniri…I want you to find a trail out of this jungle, and up to the mountain range…if you find anything, we'll be setting up camp right here. We don't have much time…" She pleaded.

The bird nodded its head. "Mai Uzura huh? You remind me of ya' mother. Alright, I'll see what I can do Boss-Lady." It flew up into the air, past the tall jungle trees. The bird had disappeared from sight. Mai's gaze was high into the clouds, "All we can do now is wait…"

"Great! More waiting...what a day." Ryoji pouted, sitting next to Kiyo.

Takane also sat, "Mai, Where'd you learn to do that..?"

"Do what?" The kunoichi responded, sitting on the grass across from the boys.

"That summoning jutsu…I heard that it takes forever to learn a skill like that…"

Mai smirked, "Well technically it's not a true summoning jutsu…these scrolls…" She pulled out the scroll that was used to summon her companion. "…They're passed down from member to their child each generation. They each hold one bird inside, and that bird at some point belonged to my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and so forth…it's not as complicated as other summoning techniques because the companion belongs solely to me."

Ryoji scratched his head. "So it's like Kouki and Akamato…or Shizu and that creepy ass spider."

"Somewhat…only that they can't live outside of a summoning scroll. That's all."

Ryoji nodded in acceptance and headed inside of the grey box that Takane had crafted. The other three shinobi followed him inside.

Hours and hours passed by and the sun sunk deeper signaling the shift from morning to the late afternoon. The shinobi had heard nothing from Okinniri, not even Mai. Takane had brought some lunch ahead of time. The four ate anxiously, none of them being able to shake the feeling of being sitting ducks. Ryoji waited at the entrance of the armored box, chewing on his rice ball with force. His eyes darted back and forth, focused on the lush green all around him.

"…Mai…where is that god damn bird? We're wasting time…" He said with a slight growl in his voice.

"I told you already bonehead. If Okinniri had found a trail he would've returned by now." The Kunoichi said before taking a bite of her food. "…Just have some faith in him."

Ryoji shook his head, "Whatever…I'm just tired of sitting around."

"We all are." Kiyo cut in. "…But there's nothing else we can do but wait, Ryoji."

Mai stood up and threw the rest of her meat away. She flipped her gorgeous brown hair, and tied it up with a single elastic band into a ponytail. The Kunoichi grabbed her bag and tossed it around her shoulder. The boy's attention quickly turned to her. "…Ryoji you might actually be right…I'm going to go look for him." She said, moving her headband from around her neck up to her actual forehead.

Ryoji raised his eyebrows. "…Huh? Why the change of heart?"

The Uzura heir walked past him unwaveringly. "You're right. Sitting around is useless. Plus something could've happened to him. I'm going to go look for him." Her face was very straight. There was no emotion whatsoever in her eyes as she looked back at her teammates.

Takane stood up, "But Mai! You can't go out by yourself!" He shouted, ready to follow her.

"And why not?" She responded, "…Is it because I'm a girl?"

Takane stopped in his tracks and his mouth dropped. He didn't know how to respond to her statement. "Well…uh…it's not tha-"

"I can do anything you three can do; maybe even more…You don't have to worry about me because I can take care of myself." She said turning back towards the outside of the campsite. Mai proceeded to leave as all three boys stood in shock at her will.

"No Mai!" Ryoji shouted from behind her. "I'm not gonna let you go out there on your own! You could get hurt!"

"Oh just stop it you dim wit." She responded, raising her hand in the air symbolizing the order of silence. "I'll be back with both Okinniri, and a way to get out of this hellhole…stay back and wait for me."

Ryoji clenched his fist, "But-"

"Ryoji…if you could do one thing for me…" The girl said, turning back at him one last time. She delivered a piercing glare at him even through his frustrated demeanor. "…Whatever you do…please don't chase after me…" She said.

The wind blew through the jungle leaves, waving Ryoji's hair to one side. He could only stare at her with his mouth wide open. Ryoji dropped his hand to his side knowing that there was no use fighting with the girl anymore. Her will had overmatched his own. He nodded in submission, "…Fine…"

She nodded and continued on her way, tightening her headband in the process.

* * *

**~Elsewhere in the Jungle~**

"Ah Bakku…have you ever seen such beauty in your whole life...?"

Two men were stationed in the bushes. One, a short man who was both fat and bald, and the other was a tall man, well over seven feet tall who wore a half mask that covered his nose and mouth. The fat man had a set of shiny teeth which seemed to be solid gold, and wore a purple one piece suit.

He counted a huge wad of rolled up Ryo bills while reclining on a stressed hammock, flipping each one with his fat, sausage-like fingers. On his ring finger he wore a ring with a fat blue diamond on it, one that could only be worn by a wealthy individual. His companion, Bakku, was shirtless and had a big scar stretching from his left shoulder, diagonally down to his waist.

Bakku's hair was extremely long and unkempt, and his pants were tattered and baggy. His eyes were bloodshot red and hung wide open. He chuckled at the question, and with a deep voice he replied, "…There's nothing better than a large sum of cash…Aburami."

The tall, barbarian man turned to his side, revealing his right arm. His right hand was completely severed and replaced by a metal slot with a hole in the center of it. Bakku used his gargantuan left hand to pick up a heavy axe from the ground. It had an extra piece sticking out at the bottom. He inserted the bottom of the axe into his right hand slot, and turned it to the right until a loud click could be heard by Aburami.

Before his partner could notice, Bakku had slashed the hammock's stem, which was connected to a tree, resulting in the fat man to fall to the ground, all of his money falling out of his hands. "…Hurry up and give me my share…before I take all of it." He bellowed, in a cringe-worthy tone.

"Ouch! You could've killed me you know!?" Aburami shouted, dusting himself off. He eagerly rushed to pick up all of the cash. "Look what you've done! Now the dough is all dirty! I hate dirty money! You know that!"

"…Hmph…" Bakku replied, not paying the man any mind. "…I could care less if you die or not…money is always more important than a measly life…"

Aburami pouted and folded his hands, "Whatever asshole…you're always saying crap like that…Without me, you'd be nothing!" The fat man waved the money in Bakku's face.

"…Are you certain..?" He bellowed, waving his axe hand in the air, stopping it less than a foot away from Aburami's neck. "They don't call me 'The Satanic Axehand' for no reason, you pig. I'll slice you into supper…"

Sweat rolled down Aburami's forehead, he was calling his bluff. "…Ok…Ok…just calm down Bakku my boy." He stuttered, eyes fixed on the sharp blade which was still at his throat. "You're definitely one of the best…we wouldn't have gotten all this cash if it wasn't for you…"

Bakku moved the axe away from his companion, "…you resemble a swine in every way possible…you're weak…" He turned around and walked away from Aburami's direction.

The fat man sighed a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead. "…Uhh…well have you put any thought into who we're gonna rob next...? Those last guys were way too easy…."

The man with the axe hand chuckled devilishly. It sent a chill down the spine of his fat friend. "_Fuck…I hate that noise…" _Aburami thought, gulping hard.

"Well…we won't need another gig after this…" Bakku said, reaching into a bag. He pulled out something that made Aburami's spine tingle even more. A limp, skinny hand of a fair skinned person was in the beefy paws of Bakku. A dark red liquid spilled from the bottom of the severed hand at a rapid pace, making the bag from which it came stained brown. On the ring finger of this hand was a ring with a blue diamond on it, similar to the one Aburami wore, but not identical.

Bakku stared at it with a sense of excitement. His eyes were wide open and focused on the detached hand unwaveringly. "…Who knows how much this precious jewelry is worth…not to mention I enjoyed the chase in getting it…" He ripped the diamond ring off of the hand forcefully, even taking the ring finger off with it. He chucked the loose hand somewhere in the trees.

Aburami's jaw almost dropped, but he took a breath and swallowed his fear._"Lord have mercy…I can't let him leave my sight now…this is the fourth time this week…" _He thought. The fat man paused suddenly afterward, "…Yeah." He said outloud, agreeing with Bakku, "…but hey, do you hear something Bakku?"

"Like what…?"

"I think it's coming from over there." He said pointed in the direction the sound was coming from.

The leaves rustled from feet away, and now both of the shinobi could hear them. The two hide underneath a pair of bushes and peered out from underneath. In the distance, Mai Uzura was trekking over the large grass and loose branches, looking for a trail. She had no idea that she was being watched.

Aburami's eyes opened wide. From out of his pocket he revealed a Konoha leaf village headband with a large gash through the center, a symbol for a Rogue Leaf shinobi. "…I think this is an opportunity to stack some more dough, Bakku…"

Bakku shook his head, "…What could a young girl possibly have that's valuable enough to sell..?"

Aburami smirked, "…See that big bag on her back, that's a bag for arrows, and the sheath on her back as well is a Bow…those could be worth quite a considerable amount big guy. Also…she's pretty enough and old enough…I wonder how much she'd be worth on the street corners…" He explained with a chuckle at the last sentence.

Bakku smiled evilly under the mask, "…You're not as much as an idiot as I thought…I might even have my way with her young body myself first…"

Bakku also rapped his own Konoha Rogue Headband around his own head as well. "Let's go…I'm ready…"

**~Rogue Shinobi?! What strength does Mai posses to handle this one!?~**

* * *

**Jutsu Index**

_**Yottsu no tosokoshiru no Jutsu (Four Tower Armored Seal): **_

The User puts his chakra into four distinct points across from each other, and then releases it into a box-like force field, which then solidifies itself into armor. Specific to the Mamoru clan.

Class: Class B  
Type: Ninjutsu  
Nature: None

_**Summoning Jutsu:**_

A space–time ninjutsu that allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly via blood. (Although Mai's doesn't require any blood)

Class: Class C  
Type: Ninjutsu  
Nature: None


	13. Mai's Decision

**Chapter 12****:** **Mai's Decision**

**Chapter Illustration: ****Mai sits in an empty room, sitting criss-cross on the bare ground. Across from her is a lone mirror, which she stares into while she tightens her leaf village headband. She has a determined glare in her eyes.**

* * *

Mai walked over and under branches and loss wood. It seemed like each step she took was a struggle and took creativity to maneuver. She was tired, but couldn't let that get in her way.

"_I've got to find a route out of here…I can't return empty-handed. Okinniri can wait…" _She thought, wiping sweat from her forehead.

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. Mai looked from side to side, nothing was there. However, she couldn't deny that two very powerful chakra vessels were somewhere around her. She knew that she should always trust her first instinct. Pulling a kunai from her bag was her first idea.

"…_I'm being followed…and it's not by any of the boys…" _Her eyes darted around her at a rapid pace, _"It's two…two people…and they're strong too…" _

The branches seemed to rustle around her, and it was hard for Mai to be able to differentiate between the natural sounds of the forest and anything foreign. She got into a stance and readied her kunai. "Who's there!?" She shouted.

Her focus quickly turned to a pair of bushes, which rustled slightly quicker than the others. Inside, she was terrified but refused to show it. Her knees shook subtly, as the battle between her brain and her heart ensued. Mai wanted to run but her pride kept her feet glued to the ground where she was at. Lady Tsunade would never have ran, neither would Lady Sakura. She wanted to be better than they were.

"Show yourself!" Mai shouted again, with a stutter in her voice.

A large hand appeared from the bush, seemingly able to push the whole plant aside. Bakku emerged from it like a giant beast. His appearance alone was enough to put a regular man into shock. From behind him, Aburami slugged out as well. They stood in front of Mai with smiling faces.

"Ooops we're sorry Doll-face…did we scare you?" Aburami said with a chuckle. His arms were folded, and his ring finger with the large diamond tapped on his bicep. Mai took notice quickly.

"Who are you..?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows. She looked at their headbands. _"…Leaf village headbands with slashes in the middle…Rogues, huh?" _

Aburami gave her an amused smile, "Woah woah…what's the matter princess? Can't you see we're leaf shinobi like yourself?" He shrugged his shoulders, even though he knew that Mai was not falling for his lies. "The two of us are just as lost as you are…"

Mai grunted, "I'm not lost and I'm not dumb, I know you guys aren't leaf shinobi…you're rogue ninja."

Bakku nudged his partner, "Well Aburami…we got a little genius on our hands…" The comment made Aburami laugh, "Yes indeed we do Bakku…you know what we do with geniuses."

Mai readied herself for battle; she knew that they weren't going to let her off so easily.

"What's your name anyways kid..?" Bakku asked.

Mai smirked slightly. Still enveloped with fear, she knew that this could be a pivotal moment in her ninja career. Her opponent respecting her enough to ask her name quickly became a big deal. "My name is Mai Uzura, of the famed Uzura clan of the Hidden Leaf..!" She shouted, standing straight up.

The two looked at each other and back at the kunoichi. Moments later, the two burst out in a loud laughter. They pointed their fingers at her and held onto their guts. Aburami wiped tears from his eyes, "Uzura Clan?!" He repeated.

Mai's face scrunched up in embarrassment, "Yes! You got a problem with that!?" She yelled, clenching her fists.

"Oh heavens, no!" Aburami replied, still laughing heartily. "I don't want a clan full of mailmen and weaklings to stop delivering my morning paper!"

Bakku was also laughing in his signature deep voice, "The easiest kill I ever made was from a member of your clan, my dear!"

The girls face became paralyzed. She stopped in her tracks. What did he mean by "easiest kill"? These guys were for real, and they had already killed a member of the Uzura before. Now the real fear was starting to sink in. The girl backed away from the two slowly.

"…_Easiest…kill?" _She thought, her body was runny and sweaty. _"…A member of my clan was…killed by him..?" _

Bakku easily could see the horror in her eyes; he licked his lips underneath his mask. "…Your eyes…they remind me of his, girl…" He groaned, pointing directly at the petrified girl. "…I don't think I even broke a sweat…"

She wanted to turn and run, these guys were certified killers and she knew that now. However, her legs continued to stay pasted in place. The pride of the Uzura clan was keeping her there; it was a physical force beyond Mai's control. _"…There's no turning back now Mai…" _She thought.

"Ugh there's something about your idiot clan that always pissed me off in the past…you all just stand there shitting yourselves…is that your idea of courage?" Bakku asked, cracking his neck. "…or are you suicidal?" His eyes pierced through the girl.

Bakku tightened his axe on his arm socket. Aburami noticed, and quickly sent a fierce glare at him. "…Calm down…you don't need to be as rough with her as you did with the last Uzura trash we faced…she's probably worse than garbage…" He said. The fat man turned to her now, "Listen kid…let's make this nice and simple, give us everything you got on ya'. Weapons, cash, anything. If you cooperate, we won't kill you."

An arrow flew through the air, directly at Aburami's thigh. It jabbed the fat rogue ninja with a force, and lodged itself deep into his leg. Blood trickled from the wound as the man fell to his knees. "Fuck!" He shouted, trying to stop the blood. His eyes were red with fury.

"You little brat!" He growled, gold teeth all lined up. "Y-you! You fucking shot me!?"

Mai stood in an archer's stance, bow readied and pointed directly at Aburami. Her eyes were determined and flared. Her hair blew in the subtle forest winds. "…You're going to regret insulting my family…pigs!" She said. The fear seemingly had left her now. She was ready for battle.

Aburami's face turned red with anger. He started to hyperventilate, ripping the arrow from his leg. Blood spurted out, but the rogue didn't seem to care. "…You're dead meat kid! You sealed your fucking fate!"

Bakku was pleased with his partner's anger. "…Finally…you're just as blood thirsty as I am..! I'll make it quick, Aburami…" The axe handed man quickly dashed at Mai, leaving his injured friend behind.

"…_Here he comes…" _Mai thought, mentally preparing herself.

* * *

Okinniri soared through the air at a lightning speed. While high over the trees, he scanned the jungle treetops from above, which quickly became a very challenging assignment for him. Nothing but green could be seen. He squinted in frustration, "…Ugh I don't get paid enough to do this job…"

His objective was of course to look for a trail out of the forest, but it seemed as if a birds-eye view was going to be just as useless as the map that Genma had given his master, and her friends. Okinniri dipped down low, underneath the high exotic trees. He perched himself on a branch.

"…_Hmph…I should've said no to this job when I had the chance…there's no way I'll find a path with all these trees in the way…" _The bird thought, taking a huge sigh. _"If anything…I'd have to look for it underneath them…this is going to be rough." _

Seconds before taking flight again, he suddenly heard a loud crash from behind him. Okinniri spun around quickly, his small heart beating fast. "Okinniri, it looks like you're gonna have to scratch that plan…" He said to himself. A large tree had slightly turned lopsided, and moments later, crashed down to the jungle floor. He flew down to the scene to see exactly what happened.

Mai skid across the grassy floor, her face paralyzed with fear. In front of her eyes, the giant axe-handed man had cut a large tree which had stood near where she was standing originally. The blunt power of the man was astonishing, and his swipe was effortless. She had only barely dodged his axe.

Aburami clenched his bloody thigh, still furious. "Too slow Bakku! Kill that little Uzura whore!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

In a flash, Bakku pounded his beefy legs into the ground, exerting enough force to propel his huge body straight at the Kunoichi. Her eyes widened, _"…His explosiveness is off the charts…he's no joke!" _She thought. He swung his axe hand horizontally at her, which she dodged with a duck. She got low, but upon turned her head to her left, a wide leg was coming full speed her way.

The kick connected with a force. Mai couldn't block it in time. She was sent flying into a nearby tree and fell to the ground. She wiped the small amount of blood from her lip and immediately looked for her opponent once more. Bakku had disappeared.

"…Crap...!" She said under her breath.

A monstrous laugh came from above, as Bakku came crashing down on her, seemingly out of nowhere. "Be gone!" He shouted, slashing her with his axe horizontally. The girl was cut straight down the center of her body. It almost seemed like a perfect 50-50 cut as she split into two. However, Mai was not dead, and Bakku wasn't stupid.

The body blew up into smoke and a wooden log had taken its place. Soon after, three flying arrows came at Bakku from the trees, each jabbing the giant in his left shoulder from his behind. He didn't even wince in pain, and ignored the fact that they were completely lodged in him. Bakku chuckled and shook his head, "…You gotta do better than that brat…"

Mai hid inside the confines of a tree. The leaves covered her from clear view. She knew that she couldn't hide forever, but she also knew that close combat was not her strong suit. Mai took a rope and arrow from her bag. She tied the rope around the butt of the arrow and loaded into her bow. "…He doesn't know where I am for now…but I can't stay here long. I gotta give him all I got in only a few moves…"

She shoot the arrow to a tree across the battlefield with enough force to have it sink deep through the tree's rough exterior. It was tight enough that she could swing across the platforms, but over head of Bakku and Aburami, who were below her. Mai took her jump, swinging on the rope like a monkey would. She furrowed her eyebrows upon spotting Bakku. _"…Now's my chance!" _From her pockets, she revealed six small grey balls.

While in mid-swing, she dropped the small balls onto the battlefield where Bakku and Aburami stood. A giant cloud of smoke appeared, blinding her opponents momentarily. She reached the other tree branch, her destination, and quickly pulled three arrows from her bag. Each of these particular arrows had red tips, and long orange tails. She rapped three scrolls around each arrow and fired one after another into the cloud of smoke on the ground.

The arrows exploded inside the smoke cloud, resulting in a huge fireball rising into the air of the jungle and a loud crash. After the smoke cleared, the battle ground was decimated and charred black. Mai looked from above, watching for remains of her two opponents. Sweat slowly dripped from her forehead.

"…Did that do it…? Are they…dead?" She whispered to herself.

Suddenly, the tree she was standing on started to wobble violently. It tipped over to Mai's shock, and she looked over to see the cause. Using her quick reflexes, she jumped from the falling tree only to realize that her foot was now being clutched by an abnormally beefy hand. Bakku's skin was burnt and pieces of his skin were literally falling off of his body.

"…No…It can't be!" Mai thought, horrified.

Bakku showed off a sadistic smile, and mercilessly slammed the Kunoichi to the jungle floor. Mai groaned in pain, and clutched her stomach. "…You actually thought you could kill me with a pathetic move like that?! You don't deserve to live…" He said, pointing at the girl.

Aburami came out from a bush, and brushed himself off. "Hurry up and kill that little bitch already Bakku…time is money!" Bakku raised his axe hand once more, intending on wiping the girl out for good this time. Mai knew that she could run this time, he'd surely catch her.

"No worries Boss-Lady! Look who's here just in time!"

Okinniri flew into the scene, spinning at an extremely high speed, creating somewhat of a drill. His spinning gathered the wind around him and his beak centered all of it as a drill head. He rammed into Bakku's forehead, knocking him off balance. He stumbled slightly to the right, barely missing Mai with his axe swipe.

Mai quickly noticed this, and quickly made some hand seals. She gathered chakra in her belly and exhaled it in the form of more fire. "_Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!" _She shouted, blowing the flames into Bakku's already charred body. Okinniri dodged the flames just in time, as the fazed giant was engulfed in flames.

Aburami rose an eyebrow, _"…A bird? Hmph..still won't be enough to beat Bakku…" _

The kunoichi and her animal companion watched as the giant man writhed in the fire. He squirmed and shouted as his body started to turn blacker and blacker. Suddenly, his left un-axed hand shot out from the giant fireball and grabbed Okinniri. Mai jolted back in surprise.

"…No matter how much help you bring…you cannot take down a god like me!" Bakku shouted, squishing the bird with no restraint. Okinniri resisted the best he could, and looked back at the giant man with determination in his small eyes. "…Leave…the Boss-lady…alone…you meathead…!" He managed to say between Bakku's squeezes.

The big man smiled at the Ninja animal and chucked him across the battlefield into the ground. Mai screamed the bird's name before getting stomped on by Bakku. She looked into his eyes, he returned a maniacal glare, and smiled widely under his mask. The veins on his pitch black skin popped out of place, and his eyes were extremely red. His foot rose up again, and pounded down with even more force than before, pushing Mai deeper into the ground.

The jungle floor under Mai crashed and dirt flew into the air. She screamed in pain, but Bakku loved her suffering. He stomped and stomped and stomped, making the girl sink more every single time. Her cries became unbearable even for Aburami, who looked at the scene with an unpleasant face. Okinniri, tattered and bruised, struggled his way back up to his feet and watched Mai's brutal punishment.

"…_I can't save her on my own…I gotta go get the Chump-squad." _He thought.

Bakku punched the girl now, making blood spit up from her mouth. Mai slugged out from the crater she now had formed, and tried to crawl away. With each step on all fours, she coughed up more blood.

The axe-handed giant was amused, like this was only a game for him." Bwahah! I should've played with the last Uzura trash like this! I'm having the time of my life!" He laughed. He kicked Mai in the stomach, sending her up off the ground. She flew a few feet back and twisted on the ground.

"Ughhhhhh…." She whimpered, holding her stomach in pain. Mai entered her thoughts, _"…Dammit Mai…get up and fucking fight you weakling!" _

Bakku walked closer and closer to her, same insane face on. He twisted his axe back and forth, almost seeming to toy with his young victim.

"_All those years in the damn academy meant nothing to you huh Mai?" _She thought as a tear rolled down her face. _"…Now look at you, lying on the ground crying like a little wimp! Lady Tsunade and Lady Sakura should spit on you before this guy kills you…" _

Tears ran down the girls face, not because of fear anymore, but because she had fallen short of her goals so early. She felt pathetic, and useless. Slowly her gaze shifted to Okinniri who was taking one last glance at her before flying off to get help. Mai immediately caught onto his plan.

"Okinniri…whatever you do…" She started to say.

Okinniri's eyes widened.

"…Don't call those guys…" Mai said, giving the bird a glare. He knew that she meant Ryoji and the boys.

The bird's mouth dropped slowly.

Bakku finally stood above her, and licked his lips. He was completely fixed on the girl who lay in front of him. Aburami squinted briefly at his friend. "…Hmph…I couldn't help that poor girl now if I wanted to…but, for god sakes Bakku…she's underage…"

Bakku squatted over, and pulled his mask down, revealing his mouth finally. Mai looked back at him, but couldn't usher a word. He opened his mouth, and out rolled a long tongue. The pink color was gone and had been replaced with a disturbing, black shade. It was bumpy and hairy, not of human nature. Bakku slowly licked the blood from Mai's angelic face.

Her eyes watched the long muscle move up and down her soft cheek. She was petrified and couldn't move one bit. "…I once had a squad mate that looked just like you…pretty." Bakku whispered in her ear. His strong hand grasped her waist, and ran down her leg.

Mai was petrified. She still couldn't speak.

"She was delicious…" Bakku said, standing up again. He gripped a handful of Mai's hair, which was sprawled over the jungle floor, and lifted her whole body off the ground. She groaned in agony as more blood ran down her mouth and onto her clothes.

"…_Is this…it?" _The kunoichi thought, watching as the man lifted his axe. _"All that confidence in yourself…for what?" _

She took a glance at where Okinniri stood. However, surprisingly, there was no track of the bird. Mai closed her eyes, as she knew he had gone to get help. _"…Damn you Okinniri…it sucks to know that it's too late for me now…" _

The axe swung one final time.

**~What is Mai's Fate now? ~**

* * *

**Jutsu Index:**

**Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique):**

A technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire and expelled from the mouth either as a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flame-thrower.

Class: Class C  
Type: Ninjutsu  
Nature: Fire


End file.
